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The rush was prompted by an initial report by a driver involved in a road-rage incident that he thought he’d seen another motorist with a gun, Montvale Police Chief Jeremy Abrams told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
(NOTE: The original story said that an attempted holdup at a nearby 7-Eleven precipitated the crash. That report was wrong.)
As Abrams explained, two motorists from New York State apparently came into New Jersey to buy gas when they got into an argument yesterday afternoon at the circle near the railroad tracks off Kinderkamack Road.
After one of them drove off, the other called police, reporting that the man “had reached in his jacket as if to pull out a weapon,” Abrams said.
“Officers were there in seconds,” the chief said. “They found the second man fueling his tank at another gas station and spoke to him. The sergeant at the scene quickly realized that something wasn’t right.
“He definitely didn’t have a gun.”
The other motorist, while being re-interviewed, said he “thought that maybe” the man was armed, Abrams said.
No action was taken by the Montvale officers.
“Fortunately, the Park Ridge officer wasn’t injured seriously,” Abrams said. “Unfortunately, he was headed to the scene when he had to swerve to avoid another car and hit a tree, damaging the police vehicle.”
The cruiser, which had its front end smashed, had to be removed by a flatbed tow truck.
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