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Ace Antonio, who's also the acting municipal clerk in Wallington, was believed to be driving a vehicle owned by his father that struck a utility pole on West Ridgewood Avenue near the Stony Lane School around 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28.
Responding officers found the vehicle unoccupied, responders with direct knowledge of the incident said.
Antonio, 32, who lives about two miles from the crash site, apparently walked home, they said.
Police went to the house on Columbine Road, but no one was there. They also couldn't reach Antonio by phone because he apparently didn't have one.
His father had actually taken Antonio to the hospital, a source with direct knowledge of the incident explained.
Damage to both the vehicle and the pole was minimal and not serious enough to consider it a major accident, the source said.
All Paramus authorities would say is that an investigation was continuing.
Antonio apparently is still hospitalized and couldn't be reached for comment.
Last month he sued Wallington Mayor Melissa Dabal and the borough, accusing her of "unsolicited, inappropriate sexual comments and conversations about his sexuality."
Antonio asked the mayor to stop "on numerous occasions," but she persisted and he "reluctantly answered" because of the "unequal power dynamic," a suit filed in Superior Court in Hackensack last month alleges.
Dabal said that she "[knew] a 60-year-old man and, if interested, [he] should meet him," according to the suit.
He declined, the lawsuit says.
The mayor, in turn, "systematically made" Antonio's job as acting borough clerk difficult, "became hyper-critical" of his work and prevented him from completing his duties, it says.
Dabal allegedly texted Antonio a photo of an older man that he reported to the borough administrator and borough attorney, citing a hostile work environment. Neither has done anything about it, Antonio claims.
The result for him, he says, has been "experienced anxiety and emotional distress" along with physical ailments that have required him to seek treatment.
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