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ROUTE 17 WRECK: Rockland Driver Was Drunk, Had THC Products For Sale, Bergen Prosecutor Says ROUTE 17 WRECK: Rockland Driver Was Drunk, Had THC Products For Sale, Bergen Prosecutor Says
Route 17 Wreck: Rockland Driver Was Drunk, Had THC Products For Sale, Bergen Prosecutor Says A 22-year-old Nanuet man was intoxicated when his speeding sports car slammed into a tractor-trailer in a horrific overnight crash on Route 17 in Paramus over the weekend, authorities said. Davil LaFontant was charged with aggravated assault, assault by auto and drug possession in the crash, which injured him and a 20-year-old female passenger, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Wednesday. LaFontant, who’s unemployed, plowed a 2019 Dodge Charger into the side of an Amazon Prime rig that was parked on the right shoulder of northbound Route 17 in front of the Suburban Diner shortly …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Head-On DWI Crash Off Route 208: One Driver Hospitalized, Other Arrested, Fair Lawn Police Say Head-On DWI Crash Off Route 208: One Driver Hospitalized, Other Arrested, Fair Lawn Police Say
Head-On DWI Crash Off Route 208: One Driver Hospitalized, Other Arrested, Fair Lawn Police Say Police said a driver was under the influence when his car slammed head-on into another Friday morning just off Route 208 in Fair Lawn, authorities said. Witnesses told police that Vadym Yukhno, 58, of Fair Lawn passed several other cars on Maple Avenue coming off the highway ramp toward Glen Rock when his Prius struck a Chevy Malibu in the oncoming lane just shortly after 9 a.m. The driver of the Malibu, a 43-year-old New Haven, CT woman, was taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with chest and wrist injuries, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. Police arrested Yukhno after he failed a roadside …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Authorities: Fleeing NYS Buyer Leads Pursuing Paterson PD To 6,600 Heroin Bags, Gun, $32,800 Authorities: Fleeing NYS Buyer Leads Pursuing Paterson PD To 6,600 Heroin Bags, Gun, $32,800
Authorities: Fleeing NYS Buyer Leads Pursuing Paterson PD To 6,600 Heroin Bags, Gun, $32,800 What began as a Paterson police pursuit of a fleeing New York State drug buyer led to the seizure of 6,660 heroin folds, a loaded gun and $32,800 in proceeds, authorities said. Paramus and New Jersey State Police joined in chasing down John A. Garulli, 34, of New Windsor on the northbound Garden State Parkway, Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. Moments earlier, members of the city police Narcotics Division detectives saw Garulli buy drugs from ex-con Thomas N. Williams, 26, of Paterson at the corner of McLean Boulevard and East 38th Street, Speziale said. They tried to st…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PD: DWI Driver Seriously Injures Passenger, Other Driver In Head-On Paterson Plank Road Crash PD: DWI Driver Seriously Injures Passenger, Other Driver In Head-On Paterson Plank Road Crash
PD: DWI Driver Seriously Injures Passenger, Other Driver In Head-On Paterson Plank Road Crash A 39-year-old Jersey City man was drunk when he crashed his sedan, leaving a passenger in his vehicle seriously injured and another driver with minor injuries on Paterson Plank Road in Secaucus, police said. Mark Ortiz was behind the wheel of a 2002 Honda Civic when he crossed over into oncoming traffic, crashing into a 2008 BMW around 10:05 p.m. Feb. 9, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. The collision sent the BMW into a snow embankment, leaving the driver -- an 18-year-old Nutley resident -- with minor injuries, Miller said. Ortiz's passenger, a 39-year-old Jersey City resident, w…

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by Cecilia Levine
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DWI Driver From Hudson Charged With Assault In Edgewater Crash That Seriously Injured Passenger DWI Driver From Hudson Charged With Assault In Edgewater Crash That Seriously Injured Passenger
DWI Driver From Hudson Charged With Assault In Edgewater Crash That Seriously Injured Passenger A food delivery driver from Guttenberg was drunk when her car ran off the road and struck a utility pole in Edgewater, seriously injuring her passenger, authorities charged. Maria Zarate-Celis, 23, was booked into the Bergen County Jail on assault by auto charges this past Saturday following an investigation into the overnight Aug. 15 crash on River Road near Vreeland Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. A judge in Hackensack ordered her release pending trial on Monday, records show. Zarate-Celis’s 25-year-old female passenger has since been released from Hackensack Universi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver
North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver Kearny police helped their North Arlington colleagues identify a fleeing driver moments after an SUV struck a 13-year-old bicyclist Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The girl wasn’t seriously injured after being struck at the corner of Exton and Schuyler avenues around 1 p.m., Police Chief Scott Hedenberg said. “Great job by our officers and Kearny police working together,” he said. CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS ****** UPDATE: A pharmacist from North Bergen was charged with assault by auto for a horrific crash last month on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights that left a teenage victim still…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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North Bergen Driver Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash In Hasbrouck Heights North Bergen Driver Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash In Hasbrouck Heights
North Bergen Driver Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash In Hasbrouck Heights UPDATE: A pharmacist from North Bergen was charged with assault by auto for a horrific crash last month on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights that left a teenage victim still critical, authorities announced Thursday. Kal Elhoregy, 52, was driving a 2017 BMW M3 that slammed into a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivan parked in the Kentucky Fried Chicken lot on the southbound highway at high speed shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 24, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The Chrysler had two occupants, both 19, Musella said. Although the male passenger was ejected, the female driver was more ser…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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DWI Union City Driver Gets 9 Years For Head-On Crash That Killed HUMC Nurse DWI Union City Driver Gets 9 Years For Head-On Crash That Killed HUMC Nurse
DWI Union City Driver Gets 9 Years For Head-On Crash That Killed Humc Nurse A Union City driver was sentenced to a plea-bargained nine years in state prison for a DWI crash that killed a popular Hackensack University Medical Center nurse in Jersey City last year, authorities said Thursday. Jonathan Ortiz-Guananga, 27, previously struck a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to death by auto and assault by auto rather than go to trial for the early-morning May 5, 2019 crash on Paterson Plank Road that killed Adriana Riano of North Bergen. He was sentenced Thursday by Superior Court Judge Judge Patrick J. Arre to eight years in New Jersey state prison for one char…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Authorities: DWI Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Elmwood Park Police Authorities: DWI Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Elmwood Park Police
Authorities: DWI Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Elmwood Park Police A Hackensack car salesman from Elmwood Park who’d turned 21 just hours earlier was drunk when he struck and critically injured a pedestrian with a sedan right in front of borough police and then took off, authorities said. Omar Firozvi was driving a Ford Fusion that struck an 18-year-old New York man who was standing next to a disabled vehicle on River Drive near Marginal Road shortly after 2 a.m., Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Borough police officers who were assisting the driver whose car broke down witnessed the crash, then chased and quickly caught Firozvi, who’d kept goin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Drunk Elmwood Park Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Police Authorities: Drunk Elmwood Park Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Police
Authorities: Drunk Elmwood Park Car Salesman Flees After Hitting Pedestrian In Front Of Police A car salesman from Elmwood Park who’d turned 21 just hours earlier was drunk when he struck and critically injured a pedestrian right in front of borough police and then tried to flee, authorities said. Omar Firozvi was driving a Ford Fusion that struck an 18-year-old New York man who was standing next to a disabled vehicle on River Drive near Marginal Road shortly after 2 a.m., Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Borough police officers who were assisting the driver whose car broke down witnessed the crash, then chased and quickly caught Firozvi, who’d kept going north on River D…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
North Bergen Pharmacist Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash North Bergen Pharmacist Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash
North Bergen Pharmacist Charged In Horrific Route 17 Crash UPDATE: A pharmacist from North Bergen was charged with assault by auto for a horrific crash last month on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights that left a teenage victim still critical, authorities announced Thursday. Kal Elhoregy, 52, was driving a 2017 BMW M3 that slammed into a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivan parked in the Kentucky Fried Chicken lot on the southbound highway at high speed shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 24, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The Chrysler had two occupants, both 19, Musella said. Although the male passenger was ejected, the female driver was more ser…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Driver Who Tried Fleeing After Hitting Paramus Shopper, Cashier Charged With Assault Hackensack Driver Who Tried Fleeing After Hitting Paramus Shopper, Cashier Charged With Assault
Hackensack Driver Who Tried Fleeing After Hitting Paramus Shopper, Cashier Charged With Assault A Hackensack driver who tried to flee after his car struck a 65-year-old shopper and a cashier helping her load groceries into her car at the Paramus ShopRite was charged with two counts of assault by auto, authorities said. Gary Mongelli, 68, "reported a mechanical failure" of his 2015 Nissan Versa after he put it into reverse in the lot of the eastbound Route 4 supermarket and struck the Hackensack shopper and 33-year-old female cashier following the afternoon crash last Saturday, police said at the time. However, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday that Mongelli put the car…

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by Jerry DeMarco