Police pursuit ends near Bethlehem High School | News

DELMAR – A police pursuit ended with a crash, right in front of a former police officer's house. The pursuit ended around 12 p.m. in a residential neighborhood not far from Bethlehem High School.

Police say the pursuit began at 11:25 a.m. when the suspect travelling west on Delaware Avenue came to the intersection of Kenwood Avenue. He crossed into oncoming traffic and almost caused a head on collision.

Officers saw it happen and attempted to stop the suspect but the driver sped up and tried to get away.

The quiet and calmness was taken away by police sirens and flashing lights in the Bethlehem neighborhood.  The car was chased by police and Joe Conroy saw it coming from his driveway.

“I heard the siren coming. That was kind of unusual, number one,” said Conroy. “Then I heard racing engines coming down the street and I was going ‘what the heck is this?’”

The dark colored station wagon with police in pursuit came barreling towards his house late this morning, crashing into his basketball hoop in his front yard, nearly missing him.

“When the guy bailed out of the car I yelled for him to stop and when he didn’t stop I started chasing him,” said Conroy.

That, was probably instinct. He is a retired detective for the Albany Police Department. But Bethlehem Police were also hot on the suspect's trail, bolting through the neighborhood.

“I took my truck down the street to see if I could cut these guys off on Longmeadow and then I spotted them near a neighbor’s house” said Conroy.

That was how police were able to nab the driver. The car had an out of state license plate. He also had a pit bull with him that was taken away from him from Animal Control.

The pending charges against the suspect include misdemeanor reckless endangerment and numerous vehicle and traffic violations. No injuries were reported.

NewsChannel 13’s Dan Levy was also at the scene Friday morning and saw police take bags out of the car. No word yet on what was in the bags.