MARLBORO – A Marlboro Police Department patrolman was injured in a motor vehicle collision in the early morning hours of Jan. 10.
According to police, at 2:12 a.m. a homeowner on Bayview Drive in the Morganville section of Marlboro called police to report suspicious activity in front of his house.
Patrolman Adam Mattei was in the area and located a vehicle at the intersection of Walnut Drive and Pleasant Valley Road. The vehicle drove off at a high rate of speed toward Reids Hill Road.
Patrolman Michael Verbeke was driving on Beacon Hill Road and was also responding to the scene. While Verbeke was making a K-turn in front of a home on Reids Hill Road, the suspect vehicle crashed into Verbeke’s patrol car.
Police said Verbeke sustained injuries to both his wrists from his vehicle’s airbag. He was transported to Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel, by the Morganville First Aid Squad and later released.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Verbeke’s patrol car fled from the scene on foot and could not be located after an extensive search, according to police.
The patrol vehicle and the suspect vehicle were towed from the scene. It was later determined the vehicle involved in the crash, described as a black Audi, was reported stolen out of Mendham, Morris County, late in 2019.
The incident is being investigated by the Marlboro Police Department Detective Bureau.