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Judith McLead, 71, was arguing with a passenger, who said she threatened to kill them both before driving off southbound Bergen Boulevard just before 5 p.m. Saturday, Police Chief Martin Kahn said.
The vehicle would have careened down a steep embankment to Fairview Avenue -- 250 or so feet below -- if it hadn’t hit the tree, Kahn said.
"She said she was going to kill me and drove off. She tried to kill us both," the female passenger later said in a social media post. "I am, thank God, totally fine and she is in jail."
Family members raised questions about the passenger, who they said has had a history of problems with McLead and her son.
Members of Ridgefield Rescue shored up the vehicle while borough firefighters got the driver out. The passenger climbed out on her own.
McLead was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center and then brought to Fairview police headquarters, where she was interviewed and processed before being taken to New Bridge Medical Center for a psychological evaluation, the chief said.
She was later transported to the Bergen County Jail, where she remained held on Sunday, charged with aggravated assault, pending a detention hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court.
An investigation was continuing, Kahn said.
Contributed photo
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