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Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit

Police & Fire
ROAD RAGE: Firefighter Gets 5-Year Prison Term For Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Teens ROAD RAGE: Firefighter Gets 5-Year Prison Term For Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Teens
Road Rage: Firefighter Gets 5-Year Prison Term For Route 9W Crash That Critically Injured Teens UPDATE: A volunteer firefighter who caused a road-rage crash that nearly killed a group of fellow Bergen County teens – and then inexplicably returned to the scene as a responder – was sentenced to a plea-bargained five years in state prison. Luke G. Stein, 19, apologized to the victims and their families, some of whom addressed the judge emotionally, during a sentencing hearing in Hackensack on Friday, June 30. Lital Aburus said she'd had nine surgeries, including cosmetic operations on her face, neck and arms, along with a broken collarbone. Ariana Grant spoke of laying in a hospital be…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: College Student From Garfield Dead, GF Hospitalized In Horrific Ridgefield Crash UPDATE: College Student From Garfield Dead, GF Hospitalized In Horrific Ridgefield Crash
Update: College Student From Garfield Dead, GF Hospitalized In Horrific Ridgefield Crash UPDATE: A 19-year-old college student from Garfield was killed and his girlfriend seriously injured when his Mustang slammed into the front of a new restaurant in Ridgefield early Saturday. The two were headed north on Broad Avenue when Yusuf Bakmaz missed the split to Grand Avenue on the left around midnight June 24, Ridgefield Police Chief TJ Gallagher said. The teen's white 2002 Ford Mustang barreled over the island, clipped another vehicle and swerved directly into Karden, which opened in April at the site of the old Chan's Dragon Inn. Bakmaz -- a sophomore who majored in computer sc…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FIERY CRASH: Pole Lands On Officer's Vehicle, Stolen Sedan Occupants Flee FIERY CRASH: Pole Lands On Officer's Vehicle, Stolen Sedan Occupants Flee
Fiery Crash: Pole Lands On Officer's Vehicle, Stolen Sedan Occupants Flee An officer escaped serious injury when a pole fell onto a police cruiser during a fiery overnight crash involving a stolen car and two fleeing occupants in Ridgefield. The Infiniti sedan was being pursued when it slammed into a traffic light and utility pole at Broad Avenue and Route 5 outside the Ridgefield Fire Co. 1 firehouse shortly after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13. Firefighters found the vehicle fully involved, the officer OK and the occupants gone, responders said. They quickly doused the blaze. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit initially was summoned…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Deceased Driver, Passengers ID'd In Multi-Fatal Van Crash On Palisades Parkway UPDATE: Deceased Driver, Passengers ID'd In Multi-Fatal Van Crash On Palisades Parkway
Update: Deceased Driver, Passengers ID'd In Multi-Fatal Van Crash On Palisades Parkway UPDATE: The driver of a passenger van apparently suffered a medical episode before a crash overnight near the George Washington Bridge that killed him and three workers being shuttled home from a factory in Orange County, NY, authorities said. Eight others were hospitalized following the crash on the southbound on the Palisades Interstate Parkway between Exits 1 and 2 in Englewood Cliffs shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 2. George Massey, 54, of the Bronx was driving the Ford Econoline E350 passenger van, which landed on its side in a wooded area of the median, Palisades Interstate Park…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Four Killed, Eight Hospitalized In Shuttle Van Crash On Palisades Interstate Parkway UPDATE: Four Killed, Eight Hospitalized In Shuttle Van Crash On Palisades Interstate Parkway
Update: Four Killed, Eight Hospitalized In Shuttle Van Crash On Palisades Interstate Parkway UPDATE: The driver of a passenger van apparently suffered a medical episode before a crash overnight near the George Washington Bridge that killed him and three workers being shuttled home from a factory in Orange County, NY, authorities said. Eight others were hospitalized following the crash on the southbound on the Palisades Interstate Parkway between Exits 1 and 2 in Englewood Cliffs shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 2. George Massey, 54, of the Bronx was driving the Ford Econoline E350 passenger van, which landed on its side in a wooded area of the median, Palisades Interstate Park…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
VIDEO: Motorists Report Tractor-Trailer Weaving Before Driver Is Killed In Fiery Route 80 Crash VIDEO: Motorists Report Tractor-Trailer Weaving Before Driver Is Killed In Fiery Route 80 Crash
Video: Motorists Report Tractor-Trailer Weaving Before Driver Is Killed In Fiery Route 80 Crash UPDATE: A tractor-trailer driver apparently suffered a medical emergency before he died in a fiery crash off Route 80, authorities confirmed. Motorists had just reported the rig weaving back and forth in front of them when it barreled off the westbound highway close to the site of the old Marcal plant in Elmwood Park shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday,  New Jersey State Police Sgt. Alejandro Goez said. First it drifted onto the right shoulder, then it struck the guardrail and continued over the curbed median at the Exit 61 on-ramp before plowing through another guardrail and plummeting off …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Tractor-Trailer Driver Killed In Horrific Fiery Crash On Route 80 Tractor-Trailer Driver Killed In Horrific Fiery Crash On Route 80
Tractor-Trailer Driver Killed In Horrific Fiery Crash On Route 80 UPDATE: A tractor-trailer driver apparently suffered a medical emergency before he died in a fiery crash off Route 80, authorities confirmed. Motorists had just reported the rig weaving back and forth in front of them when it barreled off the westbound highway close to the site of the old Marcal plant in Elmwood Park shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Alejandro Goez said. First it drifted onto the right shoulder, then it struck the guardrail and continued over the curbed median at the Exit 61 on-ramp before plowing through another guardrail and plummeting off …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Pedestrian Struck, Killed In Fort Lee By SUV Driven By Union City Motorist Pedestrian Struck, Killed In Fort Lee By SUV Driven By Union City Motorist
Pedestrian Struck, Killed In Fort Lee By SUV Driven By Union City Motorist A 33-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed in Fort Lee by an SUV driven by a Union City motorist, authorities said. Mark Williams of Paterson was struck by the southbound 2016 Porsche Cayenne on Lemoine Avenue at Washington Avenue, just north of the George Washington Bridge, around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, Fort Lee Police Capt. Edward Young said. Responding officers immediately began CPR on the unresponsive victim, who was taken to Holy Name Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead soon after, the captain said. The female driver, also 33 years old, stopped immediately and remained at …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
HORRIFIC ROUTE 3 CRASH: Tow Truck Driver Struck, Critically Injured Clearing Highway HORRIFIC ROUTE 3 CRASH: Tow Truck Driver Struck, Critically Injured Clearing Highway
Horrific Route 3 Crash: Tow Truck Driver Struck, Critically Injured Clearing Highway UPDATE: A tow truck driver was fighting for his life after he was gravely injured by an out-of-control vehicle while responding to a previous accident on Route 3 in Rutherford, authorities said. Police had closed down several lanes and the shoulder while placing their vehicles and cones behind the initial two-car crash scene on the westbound highway near Park Avenue -- west of Route 17 and east of the Passaic River -- around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, Police Chief John Russo said. Robert Thornton, 31, of Nick's Towing Service in Rutherford, had one of the vehicles on the flatbed and was p…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Family Of Bicycle-Riding Bergenfield Boy Killed In Crash With Bus Gets $1.6M Family Of Bicycle-Riding Bergenfield Boy Killed In Crash With Bus Gets $1.6M
Family Of Bicycle-Riding Bergenfield Boy Killed In Crash With Bus Gets $1.6M The family of a 9-year-old Bergenfield boy who was killed when his bicycle collided with a commuter bus 2½ years ago has reportedly settled a negligence lawsuit for $1.6 million. Alvin Maracallo was headed in the same direction on West Church Street when the driver of the New Jersey Transit bus turned left onto Veterans Plaza, hitting him as he entered the crosswalk shortly before 4 p.m. May 27, 2019. He and the bicycle hit the front wheel, then went under the bus and were run over, police said at the time. Security video from a nearby firehouse shows a good Samaritan rushing to help the b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Horrific Crash Kills Tenafly Driver, 19, Injures Three Others Horrific Crash Kills Tenafly Driver, 19, Injures Three Others
Horrific Crash Kills Tenafly Driver, 19, Injures Three Others A 19-year-old Tenafly driver was killed and three passengers were injured -- one critically -- when a sedan slammed into a tree, authorities said. An injured passenger flagged down a police car following the 10 p.m. crash Saturday on Knickerbocker Road at the corner of Columbus Drive, Tenafly Police Chief Robert Chamberlain said Firefighters cut the roof off to free a 32-year-old Bayonne woman sitting in the front seat. She and the two back-seat passengers – a Cresskill woman and Bergenfield man, both 20 – were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, the chief told Daily Voice. Th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA! Hudson Driver, 24, Surrenders In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Pedestrian GOTCHA! Hudson Driver, 24, Surrenders In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Pedestrian
Gotcha! Hudson Driver, 24, Surrenders In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Pedestrian A Jersey City man turned himself in following a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian in Fairview before dawn Monday, authorities said. Danny M. Vasquez, 24, of Hancock Avenue left the minivan, registered to his father, near the scene of the overnight crash on Broad Avenue (Route 9) and took off on foot, Fairview Police Chief Martin Kahn said. He went to North Bergen police headquarters with the elder Vasquez to surrender Monday afternoon before he was turned over to Kahn's department. The as-yet unidentified pedestrian apparently was headed to the 7-Eleven on Fairview Avenue as he wa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paramus Passersby Rescue Victims After SUVs Collide Head On, Burst Into Flames Paramus Passersby Rescue Victims After SUVs Collide Head On, Burst Into Flames
Paramus Passersby Rescue Victims After SUVs Collide Head On, Burst Into Flames HEROES: Passersby pulled three victims from their vehicles following a fiery wrong-way head-on crash Friday night in Paramus that critically injured one of the drivers, authorities confirmed. A BMW SUV carrying two men was headed south on the wrong side of Paramus Road near Alpine Drive when it slammed head-on into a Honda SUV occupied by a female driver shortly before 5:30 p.m., Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said. Passersby, including a member of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, pulled the victims out before the vehicles were consumed by flames. The female driver was very seriousl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: River Edge Girl, 17, NY Teens Seriously Injured In Route 4 Scooter Crash UPDATE: River Edge Girl, 17, NY Teens Seriously Injured In Route 4 Scooter Crash
Update: River Edge Girl, 17, NY Teens Seriously Injured In Route 4 Scooter Crash UPDATE: A 17-year-old River Edge girl and two Bronx teens were all seriously injured when their scooter barreled onto Route 4 and were struck by a passing vehicle, authorities said Sunday. The trio – including a 15-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy – were headed down Myrtle Avenue in Englewood late Saturday when the scooter hit a traffic island and careened onto the westbound highway, where they were struck by a vehicle, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton said. All three were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. The most seriously injured was the Bronx girl, who sustained…

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by Jerry DeMarco