Heroes: Paramus Officers Rescue Driver In Fiery Crash On Route 17 Pedestrian Bridge

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Two Paramus police officers rescued a trapped driver whose out-of-control SUV climbed the steps of a Route 17 pedestrian bridge and caught fire.

The SUV crashed onto the steps of the pedestrian bridge on Route 17 near Linwood Avenue.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

A driver was hospitalized after his SUV careened off Route 17 and onto the steps of a pedestrian bridge, catching fire, in Paramus.

Photo Credit: Dane Policastro for DAILY VOICE

Paramus firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

At the scene.
Photo Credit: *Dane Policastro for DAILY VOICE*

Jerry DeMarco

01/08/2021 10:12 a.m.

The 42-year-old motorist from Harriman, NY, told police his 2016 Range Rover hit something on the northbound highway shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, Deputy Police Chief Robert Guidetti said.

He lost control of the vehicle, which crashed onto the stairway of a highway pedestrian bridge just south of Linwood Avenue and burst into flames, Guidetti said.

Officers Thomas Holden and Nicholas Perna arrived instantly, opened the rear hatch and got the trapped driver out, he said.

Firefighters from Paramus Engine Company then extinguished the blaze.

The driver was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center after complaining of back pain, responders said.

A tow truck then removed the charred vehicle.

Responders included police, firefighters and EMS units from Paramus and Ridgewood, along with the Paramus Rescue Squad and Ridgewood Emergency Services personnel.

Traffic was temporarily limited to a single lane.

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