It was dark and raining steadily when the driver dropped off four passengers in a parking lot near the corner of Grand Avenue and Fort Lee Road shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday, according to a borough police report.
The girl inadvertently moved into the path of the Ford Explorer as it exited the lot and was run over by a front tire, it says.
She was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center with chest injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
Officers Eduardo Millan, Sihoon Chung and Brandon McNeil were instantly at the scene, Police Chief Scott Tamagny said. A detective also responded for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Fatal Accident Investigations Unit, he said.
"There were messages from neighbors who could do nothing but praise the sensitivity and professionalism of the officers at the scene," borough Police Commissioner Maureen Davis noted.
An investigation by the unit and borough police officially ruled the incident an accident. Daily Voice is withholding identities as a result.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgewood and receive free news updates.