Walter Benson, 51, was charged with aggravated assault, assault on police, eluding, resisting arrest and criminal mischief after he led police on a short chase through the borough and on the property of an elementary school, police said.
SPOTSWOOD -- A New Brunswick man was arrested last week after he rammed a police car with his Mitsubishi on the lawn of an elementary school in an attempt to evade arrest, police said.
Walter Benson, 51, was charged with aggravated assault, assault on police, eluding, resisting arrest and criminal mischief after he led police on a chase through the borough and on the property of an elementary school, police said.
That chase began at 5:42 p.m. Wednesday after Officers Michael Genovese and John Berlingieri responded to Beebe Avenue for a report of a suspicious vehicle, police said.
The officers located the suspicious vehicle, described as a silver Mitsubishi, on Appleby Avenue. They then witnessed the vehicle's owner, later identified as Benson, turn off the vehicle's lights.
Police said the Mitsubishi then accelerated at a high rate of speed, running multiple stop signs on Beebe, Kane and Adirondack avenues.
As police chased after Benson, he eventually drove up onto the front lawn of the G. Austin Schoenly School on Kane Avenue and proceeded to drive around the side and rear of the school, police said. Benson then crashed into a fence and a bench.
In an attempt to evade arrest, police said, Benson rammed into the side Genovese's patrol car, before speeding away southbound on Kane Avenue. He then struck a parked car on Kane Avenue as he swerved side-by-side, police said.
Police said he then turned right on Burlington Avenue, drove through another stop sign at the intersection with Adirondack Avenue, and hit another parked car.
Benson's car came to a stop after the collision, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet: Benson fled his vehicle on foot, police said.
Genovese and Berlingieri eventually caught Benson and placed him under arrest, police said.
He was taken to police headquarters and then transported to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Benson was treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for minor injuries, police said.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.