Township police arrest 2 students after chase

By Paul Szaniawski

Two Rider students were arrested early Monday morning after one of them tried to run away from Lawrence Township police, who chased him on foot and via squad car across the grass in the residence hall area, police and witnesses said.

After the students’ white pickup truck was stopped by police on Route 206 near the University’s main entrance, passenger Matthew Yavorski bolted out of the vehicle, which was driven by Mark Woolman. Yavorski proceeded to run into the campus toward the residence halls, according to the notes of Lawrence Township’s Officer Steven Simon.

Preliminary incident notes recorded that Woolman, the driver, told officers that Yavorski was vomiting blood, and he was taking him to the health center. While police called for an ambulance, Yavorski bolted out of the truck. Several officers went on a manhunt for him, according to several residents of Hill Hall, including junior Robert Sparling.

From a room in Hill, Sparling spotted a Lawrence Township Police Department (LTPD) squad car, with its red lights blinking, drive on the grass behind the building heading west toward Switlik and Route 206, some time between 2:10 and 2:20 a.m.

“I had a perfect view,” said Sparling. “Nothing blocked my view when the cop car came by. The campus speed limit is 15 miles an hour and that guy was probably going, I would guess between 35 and 40 miles an hour.”

After seeing the police car speed over the grass behind the building, Sparling went to see what the commotion was about. By the look of the tire track marks, the LTPD vehicle drove between the benches in Hill’s courtyard and a yellow sewer cap. It then sliced between two trees near Switlik toward the campus’ main entrance.

Out by the gate, several cars with flashing lights were visible surrounding Woolman’s pickup truck, said Sparling.

“There were three cops, and one of them was talking to the driver,” he said.

At that time, police said, there was no sign of Yavorski, who is a 20-year-old junior from Verona, N.J. After Woolman told them his passenger lived in Ziegler, police officers checked with Public Safety to see if the suspect had swiped his ID to get in to the residence hall. Shortly after confirming that Yavorski had swiped into the residence hall, Public Safety and LTPD headed to his room.

Some time after 2:30 a.m., Sparling and other students observed Yavorski being walked out of Ziegler’s main entrance in handcuffs, accompanied by three LTPD officers.

“Funny thing, he was wearing flip flops,” said Sparling.

Officer Simon’s notes detailed that Yavorski was in his room pretending to be asleep when he was arrested.

Woolman, a 19-year-old sophomore from Riverside, N.J., was charged with driving under the influence, according to the LTPD. Yavorski was released on a complaints summons. His charges included apprehension, hindering and obstruction of administrative law, police said. He was not available for comment.