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These NJ Parks Reached Capacity This Weekend These NJ Parks Reached Capacity This Weekend
These NJ Parks Reached Capacity This Weekend Nearly half-a-dozen New Jersey state parks were closed after reaching capacity this weekend. Residents eager for fresh air flocked to the state's parks and golf courses bright and early Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17 -- the third weekend since Gov. Phil Murphy allowed the state's parks to reopen since the shutdown. Parking lots at Ramapo Mountain State Forest in Mahwah and Norvin Green State Forest in Bloomingdale were closed as of 9 a.m. Sunday, according to New Jersey's parks department. On Saturday, the following parks were closed after reaching capacity: Batsto Village …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Driver Killed In Route 23 Rollover Crash Driver Killed In Route 23 Rollover Crash
Driver Killed In Route 23 Rollover Crash A Brooklyn woman was killed Wednesday in a rollover crash on Route 23 in West Milford, authorities confirmed. Rebecca McMahon Adelman, 36, was driving a 2019 Chevy Impala that collided with a 2003 Ford Explorer driven by a 27-year-old Bloomingdale woman at the intersection of Route 23 and Canistear Road shortly before 12:30 p.m. McMahon Adelman was extricated from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, responders said. The other driver wasn’t injured and provided a valid driver’s license, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting West Milford Police Chief James DeVore s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fleeing Suspect, 32, Who Tried To Run Down Police Officer Killed In Bloomingdale Fleeing Suspect, 32, Who Tried To Run Down Police Officer Killed In Bloomingdale
Fleeing Suspect, 32, Who Tried To Run Down Police Officer Killed In Bloomingdale UPDATE: A fleeing suspect was shot and killed Thursday morning in Bloomingdale after trying to run over a police officer, authorities confirmed. The chase began with a shoplifting on Route 23 in Riverdale around 9:30 a.m. Riverdale police stopped an Acura SUV and had taken a suspect into custody when the driver hit the gas, responders said. The chase ended at Matthews Drive in Bloomingdale, state Attorney Gurbir S. Grewal said. "Immediately before the shooting, police vehicles from Bloomingdale and Riverdale were in pursuit of the car," Grewal said. The driver, Michael J. Rivera, 32, of …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Maywood Man Freed With Conditions In Sex Choking Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19 UPDATE: Maywood Man Freed With Conditions In Sex Choking Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19
Update: Maywood Man Freed With Conditions In Sex Choking Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19 New evidence convinced a judge to order the release Thursday pending trial of a Maywood man in the death of a 19-year-old Bloomingdale woman during rough sex in her car. Superior Court Judge Margaret M. Foti ordered that Michael Gaffney, 21, remain under home confinement, except for medical treatment and visits with his attorney. He also must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, she said. Foti said the “weight of the evidence” against Gaffney in the death of Francis Victoria Garcia wasn’t as “overwhelming” as she initially believed. Authorities accused Gaffney of causing Garcia’s death…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Fire Destroys Wayne Truck Repair Shop, Leaks Oil Into Ramapo River UPDATE: Fire Destroys Wayne Truck Repair Shop, Leaks Oil Into Ramapo River
Update: Fire Destroys Wayne Truck Repair Shop, Leaks Oil Into Ramapo River Flames ravaged a Wayne truck repair shop Monday night, responders said. Responders reported explosions at Vander Wiele Truck Service  in the Hamburg Turnpike shop between two self-storage facilities. “It appeared that the fire was ignited by sparks created during metal grinding work” in the shop, Wayne Police Detective Capt. Dan Daly said early Tuesday. The blaze quickly went to four alarms after breaking out shortly before 7 p.m., collapsing a roof and walls  The main body of the fire was knocked down in about a half hour, with a trio of aerial ladders being used to contin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Dogs, Cats Flee, Rabbit Dies In Pre-Dawn Haskell House Fire Dogs, Cats Flee, Rabbit Dies In Pre-Dawn Haskell House Fire
Dogs, Cats Flee, Rabbit Dies In Pre-Dawn Haskell House Fire Two dogs and two cats made it out safely, although a rabbit died in a destructive pre-dawn home fire Monday just off Rainbow Lake in Wanaque. Firefighters by 5 a.m. had contained the blaze to a second-floor bedroom and part of the attic in the 77-year-old, 1,740-square-foot Lakeside Avenue home. Companies from Bloomingdale and Pompton Lakes provided mutual aid at the scene, while Ringwood and West Milford provided borough coverage.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Coward': Family Of Woman, 19, Killed In Car In Hackensack Speaks Out 'Coward': Family Of Woman, 19, Killed In Car In Hackensack Speaks Out
'Coward': Family Of Woman, 19, Killed In Car In Hackensack Speaks Out The family of a 19-year-old Bloomingdale woman coming to terms with her sudden death was also trying to come up with money for her funeral. More than $1,200 had been raised as of Nov. 15 on a GoFundMe launched by relatives of Francis Veronica Garcia. "My sister's life was suddenly shortened by a coward leaving us with a deep sorrow," page founder Luis Banegas said, who put funds toward his sister's funeral. Michael Gaffney, 21, of Maywood, was arrested and charged with reckless manslaughter following an autopsy on Garcia, who'd been with him at a party in a Hackensack high-rise apartment …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Maywood Man Sent Snapchat Of Unconscious Woman Before Getting Help, Report Says Maywood Man Sent Snapchat Of Unconscious Woman Before Getting Help, Report Says
Maywood Man Sent Snapchat Of Unconscious Woman Before Getting Help, Report Says "Just f***ed this b***h. I don't know what to do." That was the caption on the Snapchat photo 21-year-old Michael Gaffney took of an unconscious Bloomingdale's Francis Garcia, 19, just before she died. Gaffney sought help from friends soon after, but state Superior Court Judge Margaret Foti couldn't understand why Snapchatting a photo of Garcia's body in the backseat of the car Nov. 2 was his first reaction. Gaffney's actions that fateful night beg the question: If the Snapchat wasn't sent and help was gotten sooner, would Garcia be alive today? "I do find it curious that when a woma…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
GoFundMe Launched For Maywood Man Charged With Killing Woman Outside Hackensack Party GoFundMe Launched For Maywood Man Charged With Killing Woman Outside Hackensack Party
GoFundMe Launched For Maywood Man Charged With Killing Woman Outside Hackensack Party UPDATE: A GoFundMe campaign seeks to raise money toward "fair representation" for a 21-year-old Maywood man charged with killing a 19-year-old Bloomingdale woman who'd been with him at a party in a Hackensack high-rise apartment. Fund raising for Michael T. Gaffney is necessary "in a world where the media is able to spin anything to match their agenda," wrote his 22-year-old sister, Samantha Gaffney, who organized the campaign. Gaffney recklessly caused the death of Francis Victoria Garcia, who was with him in the back seat of a car parked on the top level of a garage at 140 Prospect Avenu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Maywood Man, 21, Charged With Killing Bloomingdale Woman In Car Outside Hackensack Party Maywood Man, 21, Charged With Killing Bloomingdale Woman In Car Outside Hackensack Party
Maywood Man, 21, Charged With Killing Bloomingdale Woman In Car Outside Hackensack Party UPDATE: A 21-year-old Maywood man was charged with reckless manslaughter Saturday following an autopsy on a 19-year-old Bloomingdale woman who'd been with him at a party in a Hackensack high-rise apartment. Michael T. Gaffney recklessly caused the death of Francis Victoria Garcia, who was with him in the back seat of a car parked on the top level of a garage at 140 Prospect Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. "Compression injuries" were found around Garcia's neck, indicating that asphyxiation killed her -- and not a drug overdose -- according to the Bergen County Medical Ex…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Maywood Man, 21, Charged In Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19, In Car Outside Hackensack Party Maywood Man, 21, Charged In Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19, In Car Outside Hackensack Party
Maywood Man, 21, Charged In Death Of Bloomingdale Woman, 19, In Car Outside Hackensack Party UPDATE: A 21-year-old Maywood man was charged with reckless manslaughter Saturday following an autopsy on a 19-year-old Bloomingdale woman who'd been with him at a party in a Hackensack high-rise apartment. Michael T. Gaffney recklessly caused the death of Francis Victoria Garcia, who was with him in the back seat of a car parked on the top level of a garage at 140 Prospect Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. "Compression injuries" were found around Garcia's neck, indicating that asphyxiation killed her -- and not a drug overdose -- according to the Bergen County Medical Exa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GRAPHIC: Sweet Passaic County Pit Bull Attacked By Dog Siblings GRAPHIC: Sweet Passaic County Pit Bull Attacked By Dog Siblings
Graphic: Sweet Passaic County Pit Bull Attacked By Dog Siblings A 6-year-old pit bull who was attacked by his two dog siblings is being put up for adoption so he will be in a safer environment, said the Bergen County rescue that helped save him. Capone came from a loving home in Bloomingdale with two other dogs and a baby, and often had playdates with his grandmother's cat, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Rescue said in a joint statement with Jersey Pits Rescue. The sweet pit bull was often picked on by the other dogs in the house and on Wednesday night, was viciously attacked, rescue officials said. It became apparent to his family that he was no longer safe at…

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by Cecilia Levine