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HEROES: Good Samaritans, Police Rescue Driver Whose SUV Plunged Into Passaic River HEROES: Good Samaritans, Police Rescue Driver Whose SUV Plunged Into Passaic River
Heroes: Good Samaritans, Police Rescue Driver Whose SUV Plunged Into Passaic River A motorist was rescued by a family of good Samaritans and Nutley police after he drove his SUV into the Passaic River as high tide rolled in. The rescuers jumped in and got the driver out after the vehicle plunged down the boat ramp north of the Kingsland Avenue Bridge, which connects Nutley and Lyndhurst, shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, responders said. The SUV then became submerged in 10 feet of water about 100 feet or so from shore, they said. The Lyndhurst Fire Department deployed a rescue diver who searched the vehicle and immediate area and found no additional victims. The vehicle …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Honey Bear' Bites Child In Bergen County Park, Responders Say 'Honey Bear' Bites Child In Bergen County Park, Responders Say
'Honey Bear' Bites Child In Bergen County Park, Responders Say A child was hospitalized after being bitten by a pet kinkajou in a Wallington park, responders said Wednesday night. The owner was walking the pet when the child came up and was bitten in Samuel Nelkin County Park around 5:30 p.m., witnesses said. A bleeding puncture wound was controlled, responders said. Police had the owner remain in his truck with the kinkajou in the parking lot while they questioned witnesses, they said. A New York City-based television station incorrectly reported that the animal involved was a monkey. Although they bear some resemblance to monkeys, kinkajous -- als…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities ID Body Of Drowned Paddle Boarder, 24, Recovered From Mahwah Lake Authorities ID Body Of Drowned Paddle Boarder, 24, Recovered From Mahwah Lake
Authorities ID Body Of Drowned Paddle Boarder, 24, Recovered From Mahwah Lake A drowned paddle boarder whose body was recovered from a Mahwah lake Tuesday has been identified as a 24-year-old local resident. Mario Morales had lost his grip and fell into Dators Pond at the foot of Stag Hill Road early Thursday evening, New Jersey Police Trooper Charles Marchan confirmed. His body was found in 15 feet of water shortly before 3 p.m.  Morales' older brother then paddled to shore shouting for someone to call 911, Mayor Jim Wysocki said. The first responder, Mahwah Police Officer Travis Canning, headed into the pond just west of the Ramapo River off Routes 202 and Route…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Divers Search Mahwah Lake For Drowned Paddle Boarder Divers Search Mahwah Lake For Drowned Paddle Boarder
Divers Search Mahwah Lake For Drowned Paddle Boarder UPDATE: The body of a drowned paddle boarder was recovered from a Mahwah lake Tuesday afternoon, responders said. The body of the 24-year-old victim from Mountainside Avenue was found in 15 feet of water shortly before 3 p.m. He wasn't immediately identified by name. The boarder had lost his grip and fell into Dators Pond at the foot of Stag Hill Road early Thursday evening, responders said. His older brother then paddled to shore shouting for someone to call 911, Mayor Jim Wysocki said. The first responder, Mahwah Police Officer Travis Canning, headed into the pond just west of the Ramap…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Viva Margarita Replacing Hackensack Sports Bar Viva Margarita Replacing Hackensack Sports Bar
Viva Margarita Replacing Hackensack Sports Bar Viva Margarita is opening a fourth location. The popular Bergen County Mexican restaurant chain will open an outpost on Main Street in Hackensack, BoozyBurbs reports. The restaurant will replace sports bar Cheers, at 774 Main St. Viva Margarita has locations in Wallington and Edgewater, and last summer relocated its Cliffside Park restaurant to Anderson Avenue. The Lawton Avenue spot in Cliffside Park is open for to-go orders. The Hackensack location is expected to open in late July or early August.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Flames Blow Through Roof Of Passaic Home Flames Blow Through Roof Of Passaic Home
Flames Blow Through Roof Of Passaic Home Firefighters battled a blaze that blew through the roof of a Passaic home Tuesday afternoon. The fire broke out in a three-story wood-frame residence at the corner of High Street and Temple Place shortly after 2 p.m. It went from two alarms to three within minutes and then four alarms soon after. Conditions forced firefighters to battle the blaze from outside while avoiding downed power lines. 100 High Street, PassaicJo Fehl for DAILY VOICE Mutual aid responders included firefighters from East Rutherford, Rutherford and Wallington, among others, as well as city police and the County W…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Men Busted Trying To Meet Girls 14, 15 For Sex In Undercover Sting, Secaucus Police Say Men Busted Trying To Meet Girls 14, 15 For Sex In Undercover Sting, Secaucus Police Say
Men Busted Trying To Meet Girls 14, 15 For Sex In Undercover Sting, Secaucus Police Say A pair of men were arrested after they agreed to meet up with individuals who they believed were 14- and 15-year-old girls in Secaucus, police said following an undercover investigation. Nicholas Signorelli, 24, of Springfield, luring and enticing a child, while Nevil Rana, 34, of Wallington, was charged with the same, along with criminal attempt to endanger the welfare of a child and obscenity for persons under 18, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. The police department got a tip that a man later identified as Signorelli had been talking to someone who he thought was a 14-year-old …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Frightening Pre-Dawn Moment: Wallington Mom, Special Needs Son Find Ex-Con Burglar In Home Frightening Pre-Dawn Moment: Wallington Mom, Special Needs Son Find Ex-Con Burglar In Home
Frightening Pre-Dawn Moment: Wallington Mom, Special Needs Son Find Ex-Con Burglar In Home Wallington police captured a convicted burglar from Garfield after a woman awoke to find him in her living room trying to steal her special needs son's bicycle, authorities said. Scott Amill, 37, had broken in through a sliding glass door and was taking the bike and a laptop when he startled the sleeping resident around 5 a.m. Monday, Lt. Eric Kluska said. Amill, a repeat offender who has served county jail time for burglary and drug-related offenses, had only just been released from the Passaic County lockup late last week, records show. The mom locked herself and her son in a bedroom and…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Prosecutor: Wallington Pizzeria Owner From New Milford Touched, Sexted Teens, Are There More? Prosecutor: Wallington Pizzeria Owner From New Milford Touched, Sexted Teens, Are There More?
Prosecutor: Wallington Pizzeria Owner From New Milford Touched, Sexted Teens, Are There More? A Wallington pizzeria owner from New Milford sexually touched at least three underage teens while trying to get them to have intercourse with him, authorities charged. Investigators were trying to determine whether Juan Cuello-Pina, 30, had contact with any other possible victims, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. A judge in Hackensack released Cuello-Pina on Tuesday after he was booked into the Bergen County Jail on four counts of criminal sexual contact and child endangerment hours earlier. That has raised concerns among some parents in town. Cuello-Pina, who’s married, s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen County Employee Charged In Pre-Teen Sex Assaults, Authorities Say More Victims Possible Bergen County Employee Charged In Pre-Teen Sex Assaults, Authorities Say More Victims Possible
Bergen County Employee Charged In Pre-Teen Sex Assaults, Authorities Say More Victims Possible An assistant Bergen County voting machine custodian from Wallington was charged with sexually assaulting two pre-teens, said authorities who fear that there may be others. Daryl Mahoney, 51, remained in Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus on Monday following an unsuccessful suicide attempt at the county jail, Daily Voice has learned. Mahoney assaulted one of the female victims several times, both in Bergen County and in New York State, county Prosecutor Mark Musella said Monday. It was during an investigation involving that victim that investigators from his Special Victims Unit iden…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BRUSH FIRES: GS Parkway Closed Near Shore, NJ Turnpike Threatened Near Meadowlands BRUSH FIRES: GS Parkway Closed Near Shore, NJ Turnpike Threatened Near Meadowlands
Brush FIRES: GS Parkway Closed Near Shore, NJ Turnpike Threatened Near Meadowlands UPDATE: A forest fire jumped the entire width of the Garden State Parkway from Lakewood into Brick Township while a Meadowlands brush fire stopped short of the New Jersey Turnpike amid Sunday's fierce winds.  They were among no fewer than a half-dozen large brush fires -- and nearly just as many smaller blazes -- that raged at once throughout the Garden State on Sunday, whipped by winds reported at up to 40 miles an hour and low humidity that barely cracked 20%. Several New Jersey State Police troopers gathered on the Turnpike's western awaiting word whether to close the roadway as firefig…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Wallington Detectives Arrest Local Man In Theft Of Donation Jar For Sick Kids Wallington Detectives Arrest Local Man In Theft Of Donation Jar For Sick Kids
Wallington Detectives Arrest Local Man In Theft Of Donation Jar For Sick Kids A drug user snatched a jar filled with donations for sick children from the counter of a Wallington deli before he was identified and arrested by detectives, authorities said. Adrian Siwek, 30, was wearing a gray hooded NASA sweatshirt and knit cap when he entered the Super Deli on Wallington Avenue on Monday and diverted the casher’s attention away from the plastic container, Police Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. Detective Lt. Joseph Rock identified the borough resident by reviewing the store surveillance video after the owner reported the theft on Thursday, Kudlacik said. Detective Brian Ros…

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by Jerry DeMarco