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Lodi driver tried running down Carlstadt police officer after injuring 2 in DWI crash, indictment says

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A grand jury in Hackensack this week indicted a Lodi driver on assault and attempted assault charges for crashing his car into another, injuring an East Rutherford man and his 8-year-old son, then nearly running down a Carlstadt police officer who tried to stop him.

Photo Credit: Courtesy CARLSTADT PD

Kenneth Haines, 24, registered a .19% blood alcohol content — more than twice the legal limit — after he was eventually stopped in Wallington on April 14, Carlstadt Police Chief Thomas Nielsen told CLIFFVIEW PILOT at the time.

Haines was behind the wheel of a 2012 Nissan Rogue that crossed the double-yellow line on Hoboken Road and slammed into a 2007 Ford Focus, Nielsen said.

A man and his son who were in the Focus were taken to Hackensack University Hospital with injuries that the chief said weren’t considered life-threatening.

“Although Haines initially stopped after the collision, he failed to remain on the scene and, instead, drove east on Hoboken Road at a high rate of speed towards Route 17 South, where [our] officers were working a safety checkpoint,” Nielsen said at the time.

Officer Jonathan Rood signaled for Haines to slow down and stop, but he kept going, nearly hitting Rood as he barreled through the checkpoint, he said.

He continued onto Route 17 South, and then onto Paterson Avenue before East Rutherford police stopped him in Wallington near Johnson Avenue, the chief said.

Grand jurors indicted Haines on charges of attempting to cause Rood serious bodily injury and causing serious bodily injury to the 40-something man and his son.

Police also issued him summonses for:

DWI within 1000 feet of school crossing;
Reckless driving;
Careless driving;
Leaving the scene of crash with injury;
Failing to report crash;
Failing to comply with an officer’s directions;
Failing to maintain a lane;
Failing to keep right;
Tailgating

 

MUGSHOT: Courtesy CARLSTADT PD

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