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It was shortly after midnight June 26, 1970 that a West Caldwell driver’s car veered off the Garden State Parkway and plunged 30 feet onto Saddle River Road, bursting into flames.
Fire Chief William “Don” Wilson was two blocks from the scene of the crash when he lost control of his own vehicle and it struck a tree on a notoriously treacherous curve on Saddle River Road.
He was pronounced dead at what was then Hackensack Hospital about an hour later.
Don Wilson worked as a signalman for the Erie-Lackawana Railroad.
He joined the Saddle Brook Fire Department in 1954 and served as a company commander and assistant chief before becoming chief six months before the fatal crash.
He left behind his wife, Beatrice, and two daughters.
Wilson “lost his life in service to the township of Saddle Brook and its residents while responding to a call,” Saddle Brook Fire Chief Joseph Polizzotti said Friday.
Polizzotti will place a wreath at the memorial to Wilson during a small gathering on Saturday.
“The SBFD honors his sacrifice and memory not only today but everyday," he said.
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