A man was arrested after allegedly driving a Dodge Charger recklessly on the sidewalk of a popular stretch of Kings Highway in Haddonfield, police said. The man was then caught on residential surveillance cameras attempting to break into homes in neighboring Audubon.
The suspect was identified by police as 30-year-old Christian Capacchione of National Park, New Jersey.
Just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, Camden County officials received reports of the vehicle driving on the sidewalk in the 100 to 200 blocks of Kings Highway.
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This section of Kings Highway is popular year-round for its walkable restaurants and shops.
Witnesses told NBC10 that the driver came barrelling off of the road and onto the sidewalk.
"We heard two big bangs and we thought it was a car accident and then we looked down the street and there was this car driving 40 m.p.h. It was crazy. People were running and getting out of the way," Sharon Constantino explained that she witnessed the whole thing.
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Then, police in nearby Audubon were called to the scene of a car crash on South Hood Avenue. The car matched the description of the one driving recklessly in Haddonfield and was also seen in Haddon Township.
The Audubon Police Department took to Facebook to explain what happened.
Police were told by witnesses of the crash that the suspect ran away on foot and was trying to break into nearby homes on the 100 block of South Barrett Avenue.
The officers were able to find the man as he was running through the backyard of a home, police said. As officers approached, the man could be seen on the home's deck trying to break in.
A surveillance camera on the home caught him removing the deck's fence and walking around while holding a wood plank.
One woman who lives across the street told NBC10 that she called the cops after she saw the man using the wood to hit parts of the house.
"It just didn't look right and I just screamed right away," she said. "It was just three minutes of chaos."
Two officers were hurt while trying to take the man into custody, according to police. They were taken to nearby hospitals and have been released.
Capacchione was charged with terroristic threats, burglary, criminal trespass and resisting arrest among other charges.
