Wrong-way, speeding, drunk driver tried to run from cops, police say

When Roselle Park police described Danilo Rodriguez-Benitez as a reported "erratic driver," they were underselling it.

According to police, they fist got a call at 2:40 a.m. about a black Honda traveling in the opposite lanes of travel on W. Westfield Avenue, heading toward Elizabeth. When police found the vehicle on Westfield Avenue at Chestnut Street and tried to stop it, the car sped up, and refused to stop, nearly striking several parked cars and swerving in and out of its lane, police said.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle and terminated the pursuit on Westfield and Elmora Avenues in Elizabeth, police said. But when they checked the immediate area, they found a motor vehicle accident on Westfield Avenue at Orchard St. in Elizabeth involving the Honda and three other vehicles, police said.

They found the Honda had rear-ended an SUV at a red light, rolling both vehicles and striking two other parked vehicles, police said.

The driver of the SUV, a 40-year-old Elizabeth resident, was trapped in the vehicle and extricated by police, according to the police department. He was transported to the hospital with reports of neck and back pain.

The driver of the Honda, Rodriguez-Benitez, 25, from Elizabeth was captured on foot one block west of the accident as he attempted to flee the accident scene, police said.

He was transported to the hospital with minor facial injuries and then ultimately to Roselle Park Police Department where he was formally charged with the second-degree crime of eluding police. His bail was set at $75,000.

He was also issued several traffic summons, including driving while intoxicated, DWI in a school zone, reckless driving and being an unlicensed driver, police said. Rodriguez-Benitez was lodged in the Union County Jail.