So the jury is in. You have a 60% approval rating for your writing skills and a 70% approval rating for hauling ass down Westside Avenue.

I was actually in the area at this time and saw something going on in the parking lot of McDonalds at this time but heard all units responding to Als diner so I know this is a true story.
Not sure if whatever was goin on in the McDonalds lot had to do with this or not.
I woulda done the same except I woulda called the cops and let them know what was goin on or had my wife call it in since she's in the passenger seat doing nothing anyway so I can outrun them.
Good story of what happened tho.

When the choice is fight or flight flight is almost always the best option. The OP was smart to flee what could have been a deadly situation.

Whats the color and year of the Bmw? Also since you said your wife wrote down the license plate, what is it so we can look out for it.

To all the detractors on this list, let's keep one thing in mind. Hindsight is 20/20 and when you're in a desperate situation with only seconds to respond or your life as well as your family's life could be in danger, you might not make a decision that makes sense to everyone else who reads about later, whether on here or in the Jersey Journal.

Furthermore, I don't think the OP thinks of himself as a hero or expects to be recognized as such, he is just someone who did what he had to do to save himself and his family with only seconds to spare.

Kindred - I am sorry you had to endure this experience, but I learned a lot from reading your posting. As someone who sometimes drives through Jersey City late at night on occasion, this posting was a real eye opener and will remind me to be more careful, and keep my eyes open all around me when doing so. I might just take more circuitous routes to avoid this situation in the future. I know we can't live our lives being scared but I'm willing to take a few extra minutes to get home at night if I can avoid a situation like this one. Thanks again Kindred.

I see three possibilities:

1. Events described are real. OP happens to have a hyperbolic writing style that can make truth sound like fiction.

2. For whatever reason (speeding, red light?), police were behind OP, chasing him. He tried to outrun, but couldn't. He changed tack, pulled over and came out with the jacking tale with some details thrown in (5-series, weight/height/gun). Then he joined jclist and posted about it, bolstering the tale.

3. Everything you have read is fictional and for entertainment purposes.

EXACTLY!

it's so odd to me how people have all these great ideas and accounts of what they would've done in this situation, esp typing behind their computer in a safe, relaxed manner. But should they ever be in the front lines, gauranteed their composure would change. do you know how many 911 calls there are of suspiciousness and how often police respond to that? yes, in a perfect world it would've been a great idea to alert the authorities of what may happen next, but in reality, being followed as opposed to actually seeing the perp coming near your family in a mask and gun, reaction is all you have.

i would hope to think in a similar manner.

getting the word out about this story is key!

Since no one else did I will?..

Please email either of the two Jersey Journal reporters below so they can get this story (or the actual police report) printed in the JJ to warn ALL of the Jersey City. Especially the students over at NJCU coming out of class and all of the people out on a weeknight on Westside Avenue at 11 pm. A guy standing in the middle of Culver and Westside with gun pointed at a car..that?s news. You may think that the JJ doesn't offer much (to me it does) but over the years I noticed that they print crimes like THIS. They just printed 3 carjacking stories within the last 3 weeks. (I posted them here on JCLIST) Those three were far less involved then this ...unbelievable... story. WOW So glad you are OK!

What a line: A MASKED GUNMAN WEARING BLACK EVERYTHING CAME OUT. BOTH HANDS ON HIS POLYMER PISTOL IN LOW POSITION WEAVER STANCE RUNNING?

..and 9 JCPD cars going after a suspect ?wild!


Jersey Journal Reporters
(JJ website)

Michaelangelo Conte
Police

moc.lanruojj@etnoc.ekim
201-217-2431

Charles Hack
Downtown Jersey City & North Hudson

moc.lanruojj@kcah.selrahc
201-217-2423


Or
If you have a news story or story suggestions, please contact:
Managing Editor Margaret Schmidt at (201) 217-2480 or moc.lanruojj@tdimhcs.teragram




Buy the JJ...enjoy life with a good paper!

Folks - back off a little on the OP on this. I don't think Kindred really knew he had a major problem until he saw the gun - at which time he was in the middle of city streets. With his life, his wife and kid at risk, a lot of people would have done exactly the same thing.

When you are pumped with adrenaline, all you can really focus on is getting the hell away, as fast as possible. Charting a course to a police station, thru red lights, intersections, stop signs, really isn't an option if you feel your family's life is in direct and immediate danger.

Kindred - I think you did the right thing at the time. I'm so glad you and your family survived and lived to tell. If this happened to me I might have headed to the turnpike or 440, but hindsight is easy for most of us on JCLIST that didnt have a gun in our faces.

Kindred.. as i said it is better to be safe than sorry. if it was late at night and i thought someone was following me i would have called the cops just in case. why are you getting defensive? what you did was dangerous.

you have lived in jc your whole life and you don't know how to get to a police station? i have only been here for 5 years and i rarely drive but i know where a couple police stations are. if you had called the cops and stayed on the phone with them they would have had an eye out for you.

this is common sense, if someone is being super sketchy at a late time at night then yes call the cops and drive to a police station. I'm glad you think you are parnelli jones driver and just because you have not been involved in an accident when driving 70 doesn't mean you haven't caused any so don't pat yourself on the back just yet.. how old are you that you think that is a good thing?

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http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rice%20car

What?s the License Number of the BMW and color?

Twice you wrote "ricer". Is that a misspelling of racer, a term for something else or just an Aussie accent?

Yes.. My wife called the cops, but it wasn't until after she saw the gun. I failed to mention that completely.

I accidentally made 2 accounts. I didn't know my firefox had this one cached when woke up this morning. Anyways you all know my name now. So lets all get brunch in Brownstone. =)

Why did you create a new handle to post here?

3 key things here.

1) Where do you guys live that you can tell me to drive to a police station in any way in safety?

2) How familiar are any of you with any situation given the circumstances. Have any of you people actually got into an automobile accident * i never did avoiding every accident in 18 years of driving* YES I DRIVE A 70 ON WEST SIDE AVENUE AT 70 MPH DRIVE A LIKE A DICK AND STILL NEVER GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT. My driving history is trained. I've been in motorsports for years.

3) If you had read my initial post you would have paid attention to the time and limited support i was getting from my wife.

*****YES I WAS KNEW I WAS GETTING FOLLOWED, BUT WITH ONE ARM I HAD 1 ARM LESS TO DIAL A PHONE WHILE MY WIFE LITERALLY TOLD ME TO


GO HOME!!!!!

*******

These criminals kept reasonable distance between us the entire time. They weren't speeding when i pulled at each light, but every 90 degree turn somehow they managed to keep a reasonable distance within my rear view.

THEY PLANNED TO DRIVE BEHIND WITH JUST ENOUGH SPACE TO KEEP ME GUESSING.

The doubt my wife had ALL THE DOUGHT. My wife asked for my phone, but only to take a the license plate thinking still they are only ricers or some street punks.

From Stegman where i took off my sling to Culver it took literally 30 seconds. From the deliberate red light on culver to when i centered my vehicle took 4 seconds. And from

THE CARJACKERS GETTING BEHIND ME TO RIGHT NEXT TO ME IT TOOK 2 SECONDS

2 SECONDS

2 SECONDS

All the while they were behind with no more or less than 5 cars length.


I've been closely discussing every bit of information w/ 2 detectives.

I've been going through this the entire week.

Im glad i had the opportunity to keep my life. This is not a story. This is the TRUTH>



Before placing any judgement on the victim of a horrific ATTEMPTED crime. Put yourself in my place. This is not a trivia section of a discussion of should have's. I know what i should have done. Out of all the should haves I still Could have and DID get away without harm. Ignoranc in JC will always be a part of our demographic. Don't turn a victim into the criminal because of your ignorance.

So we can all thank the couragious victim for the bad guys getting away. Instead of calling the police when he thought he was being followed blocks before, and letting them know that he was being followed. So instead of using common sense he put his family in harms way. Deciding to out run the bad guys with his arm in a sling was a BAD MOVE. What if things didn't go so well, what if they hit you or you hit someone else driving in a reckless manner and seriously injured your family. Please dont make this guys out to be a hero.

.anyone remember the show "Jacked"? it was in newark for a reason.

Kindred... you really should have called 911 and drove to a police station. it is always better to be safe and inconvenience the cops than to be sorry.

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Good point.

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Not the carjackers but that's where all the chop shops are.

nothing bitter or trolling in my earlier post, PathH8Tr. the unusual and dramatic writing style by a newbie raised a red flag. the way it was written, it felt more like another installment of the Untitled Jersey City Project. a few of the story's details reinforced that impression. perps dressed in black and wearing a mask are found far more often on TV than in real life. personally, I thought it was unlikely cops would take that report at face value when pulling over a seriously wreckless driver and ALL give chase, leaving behind someone who could have turned out to be a perp themselves. all valid reasons to question whether the original poster was in fact a troll. the rest of their responses have taken a more reasonable tone. but I still think the language of the original post is an unusal way to frame a story.

next time people should remember to obey speed limit so the criminals can easily open fire among other things...at 11pm, being able to do 70mph in a desperate situation is warranted imo...jc cops obviously felt it was the only choice he had otherwise he would've been slapped a couple of tickets for speeding or reckless driving...but realistically, if anyone had the balls to bolt the way he did, they would do what it takes to save their family, knowing someone with a gun was behind them.

@ CSXRailfan: if you have nothing positive to contribute, i suggest you obey speed limit in that situation and see how that turns out for you...

Sounds like this story had a happy ending, considering no innocent people were killed by your dumb ass doing 70 mph down West Side Avenue.

I heard their were a couple carjackings in the heights that didn't make the paper last month. I noticed more carjacking the past few months also. It seems most of the JC carjackers are more opportunist while the NWK crews seem to be targeting luxury cars and actually going out to look for some one to carjack.

I'm a father as well, born and raised in jc and was never overly concerned about our crime as we do live in an urban city, but these numerous car jackings that have increased since the summer has really gotten me concerned driving through our streets. It actually makes sense that these criminals would resort to this tactic as it's an easy way to steal a vehicle with a slim chance of being caught right away.

It seems as though the new strategy for these thieves is to pull up in another car behind un unsuspecting victim, and the passenger would approach the car with a mask and gun. It has also been reported that they would actually rear end the car they are targeting and when the owner comes out to assess the damage, they pistol whip them and leave with their vehicle. I also read instances where they jump into unlocked cars and demand the occupants to get out, again using a firearm to get their way.

These car jackers are also using luxury vehicles (bmw's and benzes) which make them the more inconspicuous. Recently they seem to be targeting other luxury cars and suvs (from M3's to Audi Q7's) as opposed to the owners of hondas/chargers/mini-vans/etc that were originally victimized. What's even more alarming is that they attack at all hours of the day and in all parts of our city.

Problem is that we as drivers sometimes feel invincible behind the wheel. We lose our awareness of potential dangerous situations. We need to be more attentive to our surroundings, especially when stopped at a light or double parked, etc. We need to monitor not just pedestrians, but now drivers as well that may look suspicious. And if you do feel that sense of danger or "being followed", as the OP, you need to drive immediately to a more populated area and not straight to your destination.

Thank you for sharing the original post as it opens our eyes to possible reactions in a potentially serious situation. All the stories we read are of those that fell victim to these low lives, but your awareness, courage and intuition proved to work in your favor.

Be safe fellow JCListers and let's hope we don't have to encounter this obvious trend.

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He said luxury so I'm assuming its a ML55 AMG or a Cayenne Turbo

Thanks Lafayette. I've spoken to 2 detectives multiples of times and both agree "Because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time that's all" is the correct reason. If you think for a second these car jackers are targeting something based on appearance/performance of your car you are DEAD wrong. They found a mark went for it and failed. There is a percentage that gave them the initial urge to mark me, but there's also that percentage that my engine will run circles around that POS beamer.

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So what exactly does this mean? The only carjackers come from Newark? Please tell me I'm wrong. Also to the OP , glad you came out ok after this ordeal.

Do you drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee srt8 or is it Durango R/T Hemi?

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I believe the charger is number 3 on the most stolen list.. I think its mostly the supercharged trim that's stolen.. Since both the Cherokee and Durango share the same type on engine, my guess is that;s why its targeted?