Man deliberately crashes car into police station while blasting Guns N' Roses
A New Jersey man has been charged as authorities claim he purposely crashed his car into a police station while blasting Guns N' Roses' 'Welcome To The Jungle'.
The incident happened on 20 September, with surveillance footage from the Independence Township Police Department showing the moment a gold SUV slammed into the station's squad room.
The man, identified as 34-year-old John Hargreaves, immediately exits the car following the crash and puts his hands in the air before being arrested by officers.
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No one was injured in the crash, but one officer narrowly avoided being hit the car.
While surveillance doesn't capture audio of the 1987 hit, witnesses claim it was 'blaring' from the vehicle's stereo.
According to an official statement from the police department, Hargreaves “exited the vehicle and appeared to be celebrating as he was apprehended by officers on scene as his car stereo blared the song ‘Welcome to the Jungle'."
Police also say that earlier the same day, Hargreaves deliberately crashed into the garage of a home in Liberty Township “in an attempt to scare or harass the homeowner who the defendant knew."
Hargreaves now faces multiple charges for his crimes. He has been charged with one count of terrorism, one count of causing widespread injury or damage, one count of aggravated assault, one count of burglary, one count possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of criminal mischief. He remains in a New Jersey Jail.
'Welcome To The Jungle' was the second single from Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite For Destruction. The track peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and number 24 on the UK Singles Chart.
Just last year, a fan claimed they were hit in the face by a microphone at a Gun N' Roses gig in Australia.
On 29 November, frontman Axl Rose chucked his mic into the crowd after the band performed 'Paradise City.' But, instead of a fan catching the keepsake, Rebecca Howe caught it square in the face.
The Aussie woman told a local newspaper that she thought her face had 'caved in.'
"My mind went, 'Oh my God, my face is caved in,'" she recalled. "What if it was a couple of inches to the right or left? I could have lost an eye … what if it hit me in the mouth and I broke my teeth?
"If my head was turned and it hit me in the temple, it could have killed me."
Rose vowed to stop launching mics from the stage following the incident.
Bec Oakes