Driver wanted after hitting sheriff's vehicle, fleeing traffic stop in Brick

BRICK, NJ — Authorities are searching for the driver of a black Honda Civic who fled a traffic stop in Brick after colliding with a sheriff’s vehicle.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of the car on the department’s Facebook page after the incident that happened around 11 a.m. Sunday in Brick.

A sheriff’s officer attempted to stop the car, described as a late-model Honda Civic hatchback, near the intersection of Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue and the Honda stopped in the Brick Shopping Center, where Chambers Bridge Road turns into Hooper Avenue.

The car parked behind the building for a moment, but the driver put the car in reverse and backed into the sheriff’s vehicle, then put the car in forward gear, hitting a red dumpster as the driver fled, the sheriff’s office said.

The vehicle was last seen heading south on Hooper Avenue toward the Cedar Bridge Avenue-Mantoloking Road intersection in Brick, the sheriff’s office said.

The car had a temporary New Jersey license plate beginning with the letter C, and the car will have damage to the front driver’s side, possibly with red paint on the car, and damage to the rear driver’s side bumper, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office described the driver as a Hispanic man with dark hair and wearing a black hat.

Anyone who can identify the vehicle or driver is asked to contact Sheriff’s Detective Joseph Vanderveen at [email protected].