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The 42-year-old RN from Ridgewood was still in her scrubs, a stethoscope around her neck, when Allendale firefighters removed part of the roof and got her to safety after the 7:20 a.m. crash, responders said.
Elexis D. Friedrich said she was headed into work at the Allendale Community for Senior Living near southbound Route 17 when the crash occurred in the parking lot.
After the Cherokee hit a curb, she "apparently hit the gas instead of the brake, sending the car across the roadway and over a snowbank," Police Chief George Scherb said.
It then hit a tree and rolled onto its left side into the water, he said.
"We think sun glare was to blame," the chief said. "It was really bad that time of the morning."
Friedrich was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, he said.
Friedrich said she broke "my arm, my brand new car (that most likely saved my life) and my phone" in the crash.
"God bless the Allendale Police and Fire Department, as well as the EMS," she said. "I had blood on my scrubs and it wasn't mine.
"It was from the fearless first responders who took every measure to retrieve me from my car safely."
"Seat belts and airbags save lives," said Sgt. Todd Griffith, who was one of the responders. "There was no bleeding, no injuries, no cuts -- just the arm injury from falling into the riverbank."
Borough police, Ramsey Rescue and an ambulance from The Valley Hospital were among the responders.
PHOTOS: Courtesy ALLENDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT
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