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Speeding DWI driver flees crash with man, boy, 8, nearly hits officer, Carlstadt police say

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A drunk Lodi driver crashed his car into another, injuring a man and his 8-year-old son, then nearly ran down a Carlstadt police officer who tried to stop him as he fled, authorities said this morning.

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, Carlstadt Police Chief Thomas Nielsen told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

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 on Saturday, 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.

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.

Police released Haines to a spont and assault by auto.

He also received 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

A first appearance was scheduled for May 1.

Nielsen thanked the East Rutherford Police Department for its assistance.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy CARLSTADT PD

 

 

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