Woman Carjacked Outside of Bloomfield High

A parent dropping off one of her children at Bloomfield High School was carjacked outside the high school while she was still in the car, according to witness and police reports.

Police were able to recover the car after it was crashed into two Bloomfield police vehicles during a short but life-threatening chase but the case is still open.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, 42-year-old Bloomfield resident Alexandra Diaz was sitting in her 2012 Audi Q5 outside the school, looking up an address on her car’s GPS after dropping off her child for a school activity, when a black man between 17 and 20 wearing a black hooded sweatshirt entered the SUV.

Diaz thought at first it was a student getting into the car by accident until the man yelled at her to get out.

After exiting the vehicle Diaz watched the suspect drive south on Broad St.

The next day, Officer Thomas Icolari, who was driving in an unmarked vehicle, spotted the stolen SUV on Bloomfield Ave.

Icolari reportedly followed the carjacked vehicle to the area of Bloomfield Ave. & N 15th St. where Officer Michael McCracken joined him in a police cruiser.

Police said Icolari left his unmarked police car and ordered the suspects to shut off the Audi. The driver reportedly accelerated in reverse, crashing into the unmarked police car pushing it some 30 feet. The driver then rushed forward, trying to hit him who was able to avoid getting hit. The SUV crashed into Officer McCracken’s cruiser police car before speeding off on Belmont Ave.

Police said Belleville cops founded the car unoccupied on Alva St. a short time later.

Police from several nearby towns, including a K-9 unit from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, searched the area and questioned possible suspects but did not find the carjackers.

Police said the investigation is ongoing with the Bloomfield Police Department Detective Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office working together and charges are pending.

Anyone with information on either of these crimes is asked to contact the Bloomfield Police Department Detective Bureau at 973-680-4084.