SALEM | A car raced down Mooney Road so fast Sunday afternoon that neighbors barely got a glimpse before it went through a yard and disappeared into the woods.

"I saw a black blur," said Gloria Kelley, a neighbor.

Daniel and Susan Kardaris had just returned from a vacation and were unloading their trunk when the black Pontiac Firebird shot past them around 2 p.m. and headed toward the cul-de-sac at the end of the road.

"We realized there was no way the car was going to be able to stop," said Susan Kardaris. "It just sailed right through the circle, into the grass and went down a slope."

Seconds later, Patrolman John Burke pulled up in his cruiser and found the car hood-first in a ditch. A man was fleeing into the woods, police said.

The officer had spotted the car earlier on Highland Avenue with an expired inspection sticker, police said. When Burke pulled his cruiser onto Highland Avenue, the car sped away, according to police.

The officer did not engage in a pursuit, police said.

After getting out of his cruiser, Burke chased the driver into the woods and found him hiding in the marsh. When the man refused to come out or show his hands, the officer raised his service revolver and again ordered the suspect to show his hands, according to police.

At that point, the suspect came out from his hiding place and was placed under arrest.

The suspect has an extensive record of driving offenses, police said.

Dwight Bagley Jr., 25, of 74 Leach St., was charged with driving to endanger and driving with a revoked license (fourth offense). He also was charged with failing to stop for a police officer, leaving the scene of property damage, operating an unregistered motor vehicle on a public way and other violations.

The Salem News was not able to reach Bagley.

Considering the speed of the vehicle and the time of day, neighbors said it was lucky nobody was injured.

"Usually ... there are children riding bicycles (in the cul-de-sac)," said Kardaris. "He was going so fast there's no way he could have stopped. Thank God there was no one in the street."

Bagley was released on bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today in District Court.