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Fatal Accident Investigations Unit

'Vibrant Spirit': Death Of Ridgefield Girl, 15, Leaves 'Profound Void' In 2 Communities 'Vibrant Spirit': Death Of Ridgefield Girl, 15, Leaves 'Profound Void' In 2 Communities
Serenity Law Ridgefield Teen Dead Hit-And-Run Clifton UPDATE: The death of a 15-year-old Ridgefield girl who was struck while riding a scooter near her home leaves a "profound void," said the schools chief in Clifton, where her father works. Serenity Law was struck at the intersection of Shaler Boulevard and Edgewater Avenue in Ridgefield shortly after 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was pronounced dead at Hackensack University Medical Center a short time later, the prosecutor said. Although Musella referred to the incident as a "pedestrian death," law enforcement sources confirmed that the teen was…
Girl, 15, Killed In Ridgefield Crash Girl, 15, Killed In Ridgefield Crash
Ridgefield Teen Hit-And-Run Serenity Law Clifton Cordero UPDATE: The death of a 15-year-old Ridgefield girl who was struck while riding a scooter near her home leaves a "profound void," said the schools chief in Clifton, where her father works. Serenity Law was struck at the intersection of Shaler Boulevard and Edgewater Avenue in Ridgefield shortly after 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 14, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was pronounced dead at Hackensack University Medical Center a short time later, the prosecutor said. Although Musella referred to the incident as a "pedestrian death," law enforcement sources confirmed that the tee…
Female Driver Gravely Injured, Criminal Investigation Follows Teaneck Crash Involving Teens Female Driver Gravely Injured, Criminal Investigation Follows Teaneck Crash Involving Teens
Female Driver Gravely Injured, Criminal Investigation Follows Teaneck Crash Involving Teens UPDATE: A teen driver who ran after causing a crash that gravely injured a local Teaneck mom was seized by township police and will be prosecuted, authorities confirmed. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella didn't in any way identify the driver because of state laws governing such incidents. However, local sources said he's a Bogota High School student who was with a classmate when the 2015 Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into a 2022 Nissan Rogue at the intersection of Palmer and Sherman avenues -- three blocks from the high school -- at 7:52 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 25. The impact sent t…
Woman, 77, Dies After Being Struck By 81-Year-Old Driver In Paramus ShopRite Parking Lot Woman, 77, Dies After Being Struck By 81-Year-Old Driver In Paramus ShopRite Parking Lot
Woman, 77, Dies After Being Struck By 81-Year-Old Driver In Paramus ShopRite Parking Lot A 77-year-old woman died after being struck by an SUV in the parking lot of the Paramus ShopRite on Labor Day, sources tell Daily Voice. The Hackensack resident was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center after she was hit by an 81-year-old Tappan, NY man driving a Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot of the Route 4 supermarket just after 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. Police and members of Paramus EMS arrived and attempted life-saving measures. The woman died Monday evening, sources with direct knowledge of the incident confirm. The driver of…
Driver Dead, Passenger Hospitalized In Horrific Overnight Ridgefield Crash Driver Dead, Passenger Hospitalized In Horrific Overnight Ridgefield Crash
Driver Dead, Passenger Hospitalized In Horrific Overnight Ridgefield Crash UPDATE: A 19-year-old college student from Garfield was killed and his girlfriend seriously injured when his Mustang slammed into the front of a new restaurant in Ridgefield early Saturday. The two were headed north on Broad Avenue when Yusuf Bakmaz missed the split to Grand Avenue on the left around midnight June 24, Ridgefield Police Chief TJ Gallagher said. The teen's white 2002 Ford Mustang barreled over the island, clipped another vehicle and swerved directly into Karden, which opened in April at the site of the old Chan's Dragon Inn. Bakmaz -- a sophomore who majored in computer sci…
Pedestrian Identified In Grisly Route 46 Hit And Run Death Pedestrian Identified In Grisly Route 46 Hit And Run Death
Pedestrian Identified In Grisly Route 46 Hit And Run Death UPDATE: A pedestrian who was struck and killed by a late-night hit-and-run driver on Route 46 last week was identified Tuesday as a 21-year-old Hackensack resident. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said authorities were still searching for the driver who kept going after his or her vehicle struck Jossy Israel Laguna-Matamoros on eastbound Route 46 (Winant Avenue) near Ridgefield Avenue in Ridgefield Park shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, April 7. Laguna-Matamoros was then struck, pinned and dragged beneath a Tesla in the westbound lanes, responders said. Firefighters raised the vehicle t…
Responder In Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Bergen Teens Brought To NJ To Face Charges Responder In Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Bergen Teens Brought To NJ To Face Charges
Responder In Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Bergen Teens Brought To NJ To Face Charges UPDATE: A volunteer firefighter accused in a horrific road-rage crash that nearly killed a fellow group of fellow Bergen County teens last week was brought back to New Jersey to face charges. Luke G. Stein, 18, of Cresskill was booked into the Bergen County Jail on Monday, Oct. 17, after being brought from the Boulder County Jail in Colorado.  Authorities there seized Stein this past Friday on a warrant from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office that charges him with five counts of aggravated assault, as well as impersonating a law enforcement officer. Restraining orders were also being s…
UPDATE: Rider Dies After E-Motorcycle Slams Into Port Authority Police Car Near GWB UPDATE: Rider Dies After E-Motorcycle Slams Into Port Authority Police Car Near GWB
Update: Rider Dies After E-Motorcycle Slams Into Port Authority Police Car Near GWB UPDATE: A motorcyclist ran a red light and was killed when he crashed into a Port Authority police car near the George Washington Bridge as the morning rush was beginning, authorities said. The officer had a green light on Bruce Reynolds Boulevard when the electric bike slammed into it on Lemoine Avenue at 5:45 a.m. Oct. 17, Port Authority Police Spokeswoman Lenis Valens said. The victim's name was temporarily being withheld pending notification of next of kin, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The officer, meanwhile, was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that we…
Teens Critically Injured In Road-Rage Rollover On Route 9W Teens Critically Injured In Road-Rage Rollover On Route 9W
Teens Critically Injured In Road-Rage Rollover On Route 9W UPDATE: A volunteer firefighter who was wanted in connection with a horrific road-rage crash that nearly killed a fellow group of Bergen County teens earlier this week was taken into custody in Colorado on Friday. Luke Stein, 18, was seized on a fugitive-from-justice warrant shortly after noon on Oct. 14 by police at Colorado University in Boulder, where he attends school, records show. Stein -- who's a volunteer firefighter in Alpine and Demarest -- had his vehicle's blue-and-white emergency warning lights on when he pursued and deliberately rear-ended the victims' car on Route 9W in Alpi…
Seriously Injured Teen Driver Airlifted After Head-On Crash Near Bergen/Passaic Border Seriously Injured Teen Driver Airlifted After Head-On Crash Near Bergen/Passaic Border
Seriously Injured Teen Driver Airlifted After Head-On Crash Near Bergen/Passaic Border A seriously injured 18-year-old West Milford motorist who was airlifted to the hospital following a head-on crash on Skyline Drive in Oakland was later pronounced dead, authorities said. The southbound teenage driver's Toyota Corolla crossed the double-yellow line and slammed into a northbound Ford van driven by a 64-year-old Ringwood woman shortly before 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oakland Police Capt. Timothy Keenan said. Borough firefighters extricated the teen, who was brought by members of the Oakland First Aid Squad to Indian Hills High School, Keenan said. There he was loaded into Hackensack…
Driver Of Airborne Mini Cooper That Slammed Into Minivan On Route 17 Identified, Charged Driver Of Airborne Mini Cooper That Slammed Into Minivan On Route 17 Identified, Charged
Driver Of Airborne Mini Cooper That Slammed Into Minivan On Route 17 Identified, Charged UPDATE: Authorities identified the man behind the wheel of a speeding Mini Cooper that flew into a minivan on Route 17, critically injuring its driver, as a 33-year-old warehouse worker from Hudson County. Witnesses told police that Christopher Macias of Guttenberg was racing the driver of another vehicle – believed to be a Camaro – when he failed to negotiate the exit ramp to Hoboken Road on the southbound highway shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The other vehicle kept going, they said. Macias’s Mini Cooper hit the grass triangle median separatin…
New Milford Driver Charged With Fleeing Critical Palisades Park Pedestrian Crash New Milford Driver Charged With Fleeing Critical Palisades Park Pedestrian Crash
New Milford Driver Charged With Fleeing Critical Palisades Park Pedestrian Crash A New Milford driver who sped off after his vehicle struck and critically injured a pedestrian in Palisades Park was arrested after witnesses got his license plate number, authorities said. Nicholas Sodano, 57, was behind the wheel of a vehicle that struck the 53-year-old woman shortly before 1:30 p.m. last Thursday outside the Chase Bank building on Bergen Boulevard, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The victim, who was found on the side of the roadway with several injuries, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where her condition worsened, responders said. She rem…
UPDATE: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall UPDATE: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall
Update: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall UPDATE: Authorities have the hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a 20-year-old wedding guest from Massachusetts outside a popular Route 17 catering hall Saturday night. Now they just need to determine who was driving. Witnesses and several occupants who were in the vehicle at the time were being interviewed. "We need to make sure which one was the actual driver," Bergen County Prosecutor's Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti told Daily Voice around noontime. An alert initially was broadcast for a red Dodge that fled the scene after the victim from Roxbury, MA was struck outside t…
Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17 Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17
Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17 UPDATE: Authorities have the hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a 20-year-old wedding guest from Massachusetts outside a popular Route 17 catering hall Saturday night. Now they just need to determine who was driving. Witnesses and several occupants who were in the vehicle at the time were being interviewed. "We need to make sure which one was the actual driver," Bergen County Prosecutor's Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti told Daily Voice around noontime. An alert initially was broadcast for a red Dodge that fled the scene after the victim from Roxbury, MA was struck outside t…
Prosecutor: Fair Lawn Personal Trainer Was Using Phone When He Hit Motorcyclist On Route 17 Prosecutor: Fair Lawn Personal Trainer Was Using Phone When He Hit Motorcyclist On Route 17
Prosecutor: Fair Lawn Personal Trainer Was Using Phone When He Hit Motorcyclist On Route 17 A Fair Lawn personal trainer was charged with assault by auto after detectives discovered that he was using his handheld cellphone when his car hit a motorcyclist and another vehicle on Route 17 near Route 202 in Mahwah. Ryan M. McMullen, 37, was released pending a Sept. 18 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Tuesday. McMullen “was using a handheld mobile device when he struck the 35-year-old motorcyclist from behind and then struck a third vehicle” around 4:45 p.m. Friday, the prosecutor said. The motorcyclist, wh…
DWI Driver Charged In Head-On Oakland Crash That Seriously Injured Mahwah Motorcyclist, 68 DWI Driver Charged In Head-On Oakland Crash That Seriously Injured Mahwah Motorcyclist, 68
DWI Driver Charged In Head-On Oakland Crash That Seriously Injured Mahwah Motorcyclist, 68 Authorities said a Bronx driver was drunk when he cut off a motorcycle and hit it head-on with his sedan in Oakland, seriously injuring the rider -- a 68-year-old Ramapough Lenape Nation member from Mahwah. Jeremiah W. Hayden, 23, turned his 2008 Acura TSX into a driveway from the opposite direction near Jim's Auto on West Oakland Avenue off Route 287, hitting the oncoming 1995 Honda Gold Wing, around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The motorcyclist, a member of the native American Ramapough Lenape Nation tribe, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Cent…
Woman Struck On Wyckoff Sidewalk By Out-Of-Control Vehicle Driven By Boy, 17 Woman Struck On Wyckoff Sidewalk By Out-Of-Control Vehicle Driven By Boy, 17
Woman Struck On Wyckoff Sidewalk By Out-Of-Control Vehicle Driven By Boy, 17 A female pedestrian was struck on a Wyckoff sidewalk by an out-of-control vehicle driven by a 17-year-old boy, authorities said. The boy apparently was turning when he lost control while turning from Newton Road onto Wyckoff Avenue shortly after 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The boy tried to avoid hitting another vehicle when his car ended up on the sidewalk, where it struck the 50-year-old victim and a utility pole, the prosecutor said. The woman was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where Musella said she was in stable condition. The boy r…
UPDATE: North Bergen Passenger, 40, Killed, WNY Driver Charged In DWI Crash At Fairview Border UPDATE: North Bergen Passenger, 40, Killed, WNY Driver Charged In DWI Crash At Fairview Border
Update: North Bergen Passenger, 40, Killed, WNY Driver Charged In DWI Crash At Fairview Border A passenger from North Bergen was killed and a West New York driver charged with death by auto in a suspected drunk-driving crash overnight Wednesday at the Fairview/North Bergen border, authorities said. Jose Francisco-Garcia, a 26-year-old surveillance system installer, was charged with vehicular homicide int he death of 40-year-old front-seat passenger Jose Santos of North Bergen, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced Wednesday afternoon. A 2017 Honda Civic Type R driven by Francisco-Garcia struck a utility pole on southbound Broad Avenue (Route 9) across from the entrance to F…
SEEN IT? Authorities Seek Help Finding Hit-Run Driver Who Struck Ho-Ho-Kus Woman Walking Dog SEEN IT? Authorities Seek Help Finding Hit-Run Driver Who Struck Ho-Ho-Kus Woman Walking Dog
Seen IT? Authorities Seek Help Finding Hit-Run Driver Who Struck Ho-Ho-Kus Woman Walking Dog Authorities asked the public’s help finding a hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a pedestrian walking her dog in Ho-Ho-Kus last month. The 57-year-old victim was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center following the 6:50 p.m. Nov. 26 crash after responders found her on the edge of the roadway at the intersection of North Maple Avenue and First Street, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Thursday. The woman had been walking her dog when she was struck by a red coupe or sedan, believed to be a 2009 Infiniti G37, a 2013-2015 Honda Accord or a 2018-2019 Hyundai Sonata. SEE: …
UPDATE: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home UPDATE: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home
Update: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home A Nutley man was jailed Wednesday in the deaths of a retired Albanian police chief and a Garfield Walmart manager in an early-morning crash outside the immigrant couple’s Lodi home last month. Donald Kumar Davis, 29, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide – also known as death by auto. Davis was driving a 2015 Dodge Charger that slammed into a 2005 Toyota Corolla that was emerging from the driveway of a Harrison Avenue garden apartment complex and pushed it nearly 20 feet shortly before 7 a.m. June 29, authorities said. The Corolla was found on its side near 481 Harrison Avenue…
UPDATE: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home UPDATE: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home
Update: Speeding Driver Charged With Killing Lodi Husband, Wife In Crash Outside Their Home UPDATE: A Nutley man was jailed Wednesday in the deaths of a retired Albanian police chief and a Garfield Walmart manager in an early-morning crash outside the immigrant couple’s Lodi home last month. Donald Kumar Davis, 29, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide – also known as death by auto. Davis was driving a 2015 Dodge Charger that slammed into a 2005 Toyota Corolla that was emerging from the driveway of a Harrison Avenue garden apartment complex and pushed it nearly 20 feet shortly before 7 a.m. June 29, authorities said. The Corolla was found on its side near 481 Harriso…
UPDATE: DWI Driver Arrested In Route 4 Rollover Crash UPDATE: DWI Driver Arrested In Route 4 Rollover Crash
Update: DWI Driver Arrested In Route 4 Rollover Crash UPDATE: A Fair Lawn motorist was charged with aggravated assault, DWI and reckless driving for an overnight crash on Route 4 in Paramus that left another driver in critical condition. The victim was driving a 2006 Jeep Cherokee that struck from behind in the westbound highway's center lane by a 2011 Audi A4 driven by 24-year-old Herbert Reynoso, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo. Vladimir Diaz, whose Jeep struck a utility pole, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where Calo said he was listed in critical condition.  Reynoso’s sedan continued more than 250 yards bef…
Funeral Arrangements Set For Wallington WPU Student, 20, Killed In Crash Funeral Arrangements Set For Wallington WPU Student, 20, Killed In Crash
Funeral Arrangements Set For Wallington WPU Student, 20, Killed In Crash Funeral arrangements have been set for Emily Desbiens of Wallington, who was killed in a weekend car crash just blocks from her home. A funeral Mass will be held Friday at Transfiguration Polish National Catholic Church in Wallington with interment to follow in East Ridgelawn Cemetery in Clifton. Visitation will be 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at the Warner-Wozniak Funeral Home in Wallington.  Members of William Paterson University's Delta Phi Epsilon sorority put their pain into words as they mourned Desbiens, 20. "One of the few people who could spread happiness to othe…