Chronology of a crime

CHESTER-Daniel Garcia Mooney's night of adventure, racing his Chevy Trailblazer through the streets of Chester late last Wednesday, ended with a horrific accident. He caused serious injury to himself, his girlfriend, and one of the police officers chasing him (see story on page 1). Charges of assault in the first degree, a Class B felony, were filed against him on Monday. More charges are pending. Mooney, who sometimes uses the last name of Garcia, was drunk, driving that night with a blood-alcohol level of .12. The legal limit is .08. Mooney has lived in Chester but is currently a New Jersey resident. Village of Chester police officers Timothy McGuire and David Hagberg were early responders to the scene. Last Friday they recounted what they knew about the accident. State Police Investigator Patrick Beyea, eyewitnesses Michael Ihde and David Helt, and Town of Chester Detective Sal Ardisi also contributed to the following account. On the night of July 20, a village police officer caught Mooney speeding on Route 17M and pursued him. Mooney led the police on a chase from Route 17M to the ramp of Route 17's exit 127. He went a short distance, then made a U-turn to get off the exit ramp. He took a side road to Greycourt Ave., heading into the village. Mooney flew down Greycourt with his headlights off. Coming in the opposite direction were two cars, a Ford Escort driven by 18-year-old Michael Ihde of Chester followed by Ferrara's police car. Ihde very narrowly missed being hit by Mooney's SUV, Beyea said. When Officer Robert Ferrara of the Town of Chester Police approached Ihde from behind, with his siren blaring and lights flashing, Ihde pulled over to the right side of the road. Within seconds, Ferrara's patrol car came upon Mooney's SUV. The patrol car and the SUV collided. "It sounded like a bomb went off." McGuire recalled. Had Ihde not pulled off the road the way he did, he would have been killed, Beyea said. "Thank God he did the right thing," he said. He noted that Ihde stayed on the scene. Ihde said the SUV was coming at him 70 to 80 miles per hour. "I didn't want [the police car] to have to go around me," he said. Mooney climbed out of the vehicle and "fell over to the ground," McGuire said. He appeared to have a broken leg. The engine was on fire, and the whole hood was peeled back. There was smoke, and plastic was burning. At that point an EMS worker with a fire extinguisher appeared, McGuire said. "I pulled the suspect over to the grass," he said. The officers then heard a female voice say, "Get me out, get me out — my leg hurts — get me out." McGuire said her upper body was sticking out from beneath the SUV. It was Mooney's 22-year-girlfriend, Christine Malec. Then McGuire saw Ferrara, who was unconscious. "We shook Bob a little bit. He moaned," he said. At first it wasn't clear whether or not Ferrara was breathing. Officer Hagberg said they tried to get the officer's door open. Also on the scene was Town of Chester Officer David Slowik, who managed to get the door open. Beyea's report states that Slowik pulled Ferrara out of the police car, assisted by McGuire. Town of Chester Detective Sal Ardisi, the Ferrara family liaison, said Slowik was overcome with smoke as he pulled Ferrara out. The two tumbled to the ground, with Slowik's arms around Ferrara. After Slowik got Ferrara out of the car, McGuire "heard a little air escaping" from Ferrara's lungs. The officers then tended to the woman pinned beneath the SUV. McGuire and a man Hagberg described as "a big tall guy with a black mustache about in his 40s" helped lift the vehicle while Hagberg pulled Malec out from underneath. Beyea said that man may have been Greycourt Ave. resident David Helt. But Tuesday, Helt told The Chronicle Tuesday it wasn't him. Helt said he did flag down another police car that had come in pursuit of Mooney, to warn him to stop. At the speed he was going, he may not have been able to stop without getting himself into the accident. Helt said he doesn't know if the patrol car he flagged down was a village or town vehicle. He estimated the vehicles were traveling at about 80 miles per hour, but that the SUV seemed to be going "a lot faster" than the police car. Helt saw the injured officer. "I didn't think he made it by the looks of him," he said. Mooney was admitted to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. He was in critical condition in intensive care, but his status has since been upgraded. Beyea said details about his condition cannot be released due to privacy restraints. He would only say Mooney remains admitted and is conscious and awake. Malec had been taken to Orange County Medical Center, Arden Hill campus, on the night of the accident and released. Yet, village police said that when she later visited Mooney at Westchester Medical Center, it was discovered she had a ruptured spleen and was admitted there. Although still hospitalized, Mooney was committed to the custody of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. That means the deputy has sent officers to the hospital to guard him. No bail has been set. A grand jury convenes close to press time. When police officers give chase, they often radio for help — not only from their own departments but from any department in the area available to assist. Police call this a polling call. Those who receive the polling call radio back their participation in the chase. A commander coordinates all the officers in pursuit. The Sunday edition of The Times Herald-Record quoted Sergeant Jim Thornton, the village police commander, as saying that the town police had not radioed in its involvement in the chase. The news report suggested the accident might have been avoided if the town had radioed in. But Town of Chester Detective Ardisi emphatically disagrees. He said he later listened to police radio transmissions from that night, and found the town department had responded to the call for assistance. He said he does not know who was coordinating the village's activities because he didn't hear Sergeant Thornton's voice until after the crash occurred. Ardisi said Thornton was trying to clarify the location of the crash. Investigator Beyea of the state police agrees that the town radioed in. "It's pretty clear the town called in that they're assisting," he said. The Village and Town of Chester Police, the Town of Blooming Grove Police, and the state police all radioed in their intention to assist, he said. Thornton, Sergeant Peter Graziano of the village police, and other village officials declined to speak to The Chronicle about the matter while the state police conducted their investigation. Beyea said the investigation includes a re-construction of the events surrounding the accident. Mooney has reportedly engaged in this type of behavior before in Chester and elsewhere, including Bayonne, N.J. Mooney is reportedly on parole in Bayonne. Sargeant Daniel Doellinger of the Town of Chester Police said they have no arrest records under Mooney, Garcia, or Malec. But they do have charges pending on Mooney. The department can't discuss the matter at this time because of the impending investigation. Detective Ardisi said Ferrara's family has retained legal representation with the Goshen law firm Zeccola and Selinger. He also said that after the accident, police discovered that Sandra Hoff, a cousin of Mooney's, called in an unauthorized use of the SUV. Sergeant Hetzler of the Bayonne Police Department would not comment on Mooney's parole status at press time.