MONTICELLO, N.Y. -- Sullivan County Sheriff's deputies are searching for a man who led police on a chase Thursday morning, putting some construction workers in danger on Route 17.
“It sounded like a blowout, nothing more than the usual,” said Vicki Aurich, a Monticello resident.
Sheriff's deputies say the sound Aurich heard was a fugitive's car crashing into a construction truck on Route 17. Minutes later, Aurich and her family saw officers from several law enforcement agencies around their house.
They were chasing 47-year-old John Napolitano, who the sheriff's office says ran right through Aurich's yard.
“They were searching house to house," Aurich said. "They had to search the yard.”
The chase began around 10 a.m. Thursday, when deputies tried pulling over Napolitano for a traffic violation in Thompson. But the sheriff's office says Napolitano refused to stop and headed west on Route 17 with deputies in pursuit.
“The traffic was backed up in a construction zone, so the vehicle moved to the left, through the cones, and proceeded up through the construction zone,” said Eric Chaboty, the Sullivan County undersheriff.
That's when authorities say he sped through a work zone and crashed into the truck. Luckily, no one was injured.
Deputies say Napolitano then got out of his car, ran across the eastbound lanes of Route 17 and through the yard on Crystal Street in Monticello.
“We had the state police here with dogs and helicopters and Monticello police and the Town of Fallsburg all assisting us to try and locate him,” Chaboty said.
Two sheriff's cars were damaged in the chase. Chaboty says Napolitano is on parole for robbery and has a suspended driver's license.
"He definitely put the construction workers in danger and will be charged appropriately when we catch him," Chaboty said.
Aurich says she'll be more vigilant after what happened.
“Make sure the kids stay a little bit closer for the day,” Aurich said.