Boardwalk joyride doesn’t end well for driver
A drunken joyride along the Atlantic City boardwalk on Monday afternoon left John Thompson, 28, of Staten Island, N.Y., in police custody and a 33-year-old man hospitalized, police said.
A drunken joyride along the Atlantic City boardwalk on Monday afternoon left John Thompson, 28, of Staten Island, N.Y., in police custody and a 33-year-old man hospitalized, police said.
About 12:40 p.m., Atlantic City Police spotted Thompson driving on the boardwalk next to the Trump Plaza casino near Florida Avenue and signaled for him to stop the car. Thompson sped nearly a mile south on the boards until he got off at Providence Avenue, then led police on a chase that ended at the toll plaza for the Atlantic City Expressway.
Thompson was holding two one-dollar bills out the window, preparing to enter the highway when he was taken into custody, police said.
A 33-year-old passenger whom Thompson had agreed to give a ride to New York jumped out of the car during the chase and suffered injuries to his head and feet.
He was taken to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. Information on the man's condition was not immediately available.
Thompson faces charges of aggravated assault, eluding police and DWI, among others, police said.
- Phillip Lucas