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Leonia police were conducting a routine roadblock, looking for motorists with expired licenses or registrations, not wearing seatbelts or using cellphones when the cyclist pulled into the left-turn lane on Grand Avenue, as if about to head up Fort Lee Road, around 7:40 p.m., Leonia Police Chief Jay Ziegler told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
An officer was walking toward the motorcycle when the light changed and the cyclist gunned it, heading straight ahead on Grand Avenue going south instead of making the left, the chief said.
The 17-year veteran got into his patrol car and began heading down Grand Avenue but heard that an accident had occurred, Ziegler said.
Seriously injured in the crash was Jose D. Sarria-Salazar, whose motorcycle smashed head-on into a vehicle heading north on Grand, less than a mile from Fort Lee Road.
“According to witnesses, Sarria-Salazar was operating the motorcycle in a reckless and erratic manner as he illegally passed several cars,” Molinelli said.
Sarria-Salazar, who was thrown from his bike, remains in critical condition at Hackensack University Medical Center.
The driver of the other vehicle wasn’t injured or given any summonses, the prosecutor said.
It’s unclear what role, if any, that Palisades Park police played in the chase or the crash.
“As per protocal,“ Molinelli said, his office is working with the Palisades Park and Bergen County police departments to “ensure all proper Attorney General Guidelines regarding police pursuits were followed.”
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