A Queens woman was arrested late Monday, Feb. 9, after a tracking device was used to catch her fleeing from police and driving erratically on several parkways, according to the Old Westbury Police Department.
Juliet K. Chukwudi, 32, of Jamaica, was charged with multiple traffic offenses, including reckless driving and unlawfully fleeing a police officer.
Old Westbury police said Chukwudi was driving a 2015 Toyota Venza southbound on Glen Cove Road at 11:32 p.m. Monday, when she made a right turn onto I.U. Willets Road from the left-turn lane at the intersection. An Old Westbury police officer witnessed the violation and attempted to stop the vehicle, authorities said.
Chukwudi fled the scene, entering the Northern State Parkway and operating the vehicle in an erratic manner, at times leaving the paved portion of the roadway, police said.
Officers deployed a StarChase tracking device, a pursuit mitigation tool designed to reduce the risks associated with high-speed chases.
The system launches a projectile using compressed air from a device attached to the front of a patrol car. Upon impact, the projectile affixes to the suspect vehicle and immediately begins broadcasting its location, allowing officers to track it in real time.
With assistance from the New York State Police, Chukwudi was stopped on the Meadowbrook Parkway near Hempstead Turnpike and taken into custody, authorities said.
An investigation determined that the vehicle was unregistered and uninsured, and that it displayed Texas license plates that did not belong to it, police said. Authorities also determined that Chukwudi does not have a valid driver’s license.
She was charged with reckless driving, third-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer, operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, improper plates, operating an uninspected motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without financial security, and numerous other moving violations.
Chukwudi is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 17, 2026, at First District Court in Hempstead.
In a statement, the Old Westbury Police Department said it is committed to removing unsafe drivers from the roadway and that technology such as StarChase helps reduce risks to officers and the public while holding dangerous motorists accountable.
