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Police & Fire
UPDATE: Wood-Ridge Police ID Boy, 17, As Hit-Run Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser UPDATE: Wood-Ridge Police ID Boy, 17, As Hit-Run Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser
Update: Wood-Ridge Police ID Boy, 17, As Hit-Run Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser A 17-year-old Wood-Ridge boy was behind the wheel of a speeding sedan that side-swiped a borough police cruiser and kept going, authorities said Saturday. The boy came to police headquarters accompanied by his mother Friday night after learning that authorities had identified him through surveillance video and interviews, Detective Sgt. Matt Mueller said. Police were writing several summons stemming from Thursday's incident while considering possible eluding charges, he said.  The teen wrote in an email to Daily Voice that he was the driver and that he "did nothing near speeding …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Wood-Ridge Boy, 17, Charged As Wrong-Way Mercedes Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser UPDATE: Wood-Ridge Boy, 17, Charged As Wrong-Way Mercedes Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser
Update: Wood-Ridge Boy, 17, Charged As Wrong-Way Mercedes Driver Who Side-Swiped Police Cruiser A 17-year-old Wood-Ridge boy was behind the wheel of a speeding sedan that side-swiped a borough police cruiser and kept going, authorities said Saturday. The boy came to police headquarters accompanied by his mother Friday night after learning that authorities had identified him through surveillance video and interviews, Detective Sgt. Matt Mueller said. He was receiving several summons stemming from Thursday's incident as detectives considered possible eluding charges.  The teen said in an email to Daily Voice that he was the driver and that he "did nothing near speeding off...…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
HEROES: Police Rescue Victims After SUV Rolls Off Route 17 Onto Railroad Bed HEROES: Police Rescue Victims After SUV Rolls Off Route 17 Onto Railroad Bed
Heroes: Police Rescue Victims After SUV Rolls Off Route 17 Onto Railroad Bed Police rescued the occupants of an SUV that rolled 50 yards off Route 17 into a ditch next to railroad tracks in Carlstadt. Both refused medical attention after the Sunday afternoon crash, Detective Sgt. John Cleary said. Officers Felix D’Amico and William Pangaro, who found both residents trapped, got them out with help from their colleagues from Wood-Ridge and East Rutherford, he said. New Jersey Transit temporarily suspended service while the victims were tended to by the Carlstadt Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the vehicle was removed by Nick’s Towing, the sergeant said. New Jersey T…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Lodi Man Killed In Fire UPDATE: Lodi Man Killed In Fire
Update: Lodi Man Killed In Fire UPDATE: An early morning house fire on Monday killed a Lodi resident, authorities confirmed. The fire broke out in the rear of the two-story Westminster Place home shortly before 6 a.m., apparently from a candle left burning, and quickly went to two alarms. Four residents and two guests reportedly made it out safely. Two were treated for minor injuries, responders said. A Wallington firefighter later found the body of 25-year-old Ezequiel Gonzalez, who family friends said lived there with his mother, her fiancé and his daughter. A resident said she didn’t know why he “didn’t jump out th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WINNERS: Powerball Tickets Good For $50K, $100K Sold In NJ WINNERS: Powerball Tickets Good For $50K, $100K Sold In NJ
Winners: Powerball Tickets Good For $50K, $100K Sold In NJ A pair of Powerball tickets good for $50,000 and $100,000 were sold in New Jersey. The tickets from last Wednesday's drawing were sold at the 7-Eleven in Wood-Ridge (Bergen County), and ShopRite of Hazlet (Monmouth County). The $100,000 ticket was sold in Bergen County, and the $50,000 in Monmouth County. The winning numbers were 02, 57, 58, 60 and 65. The Red Power Ball number was 26. The Multiplier number was 02. 

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall UPDATE: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall
Update: Authorities Find Vehicle That Killed Wedding Guest Outside Bergen Catering Hall UPDATE: Authorities have the hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a 20-year-old wedding guest from Massachusetts outside a popular Route 17 catering hall Saturday night. Now they just need to determine who was driving. Witnesses and several occupants who were in the vehicle at the time were being interviewed. "We need to make sure which one was the actual driver," Bergen County Prosecutor's Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti told Daily Voice around noontime. An alert initially was broadcast for a red Dodge that fled the scene after the victim from Roxbury, MA was struck outside t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17 Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17
Wedding Guest Killed By Hit-Run Driver Outside Fiesta On Route 17 UPDATE: Authorities have the hit-and-run vehicle that struck and killed a 20-year-old wedding guest from Massachusetts outside a popular Route 17 catering hall Saturday night. Now they just need to determine who was driving. Witnesses and several occupants who were in the vehicle at the time were being interviewed. "We need to make sure which one was the actual driver," Bergen County Prosecutor's Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti told Daily Voice around noontime. An alert initially was broadcast for a red Dodge that fled the scene after the victim from Roxbury, MA was struck outside t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hudson Mail Thief Who Kicked, Bit Wood-Ridge Officer In Fierce Fight Quickly Released By Judge Hudson Mail Thief Who Kicked, Bit Wood-Ridge Officer In Fierce Fight Quickly Released By Judge
Hudson Mail Thief Who Kicked, Bit Wood-Ridge Officer In Fierce Fight Quickly Released By Judge A Wood-Ridge police sergeant was injured during a furious struggle with an accused mail thief from Union City who was quickly back on the street following his arrest. Responding to a 911 call, Sgt. Joseph Rutigliano found Jimmy Yepez, 36, while searching the area of the thefts near Bergen Street and Industrial Road, Detective Lt. Joseph Biamonte said. As the sergeant pulled up, Yepez ran around his vehicle and threw mail and other evidence into Berry’s Creek, Biamonte said. Rutigliano got out and ordered him to the ground several times, but Yepez – who has a prior arrest history -- fought …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Fugitive In NYC Home Invasion Captured Off Route 17 GOTCHA! Fugitive In NYC Home Invasion Captured Off Route 17
Gotcha! Fugitive In NYC Home Invasion Captured Off Route 17 Wood-Ridge police captured a Passaic County fugitive wanted in a Bronx home invasion after he made an illegal turn over Route 17, authorities said. Fouad Abudayya, 20, of Bloomingdale was carrying a loaded rifle when Lt. James Witkowski and Officer Mark Torsiello stopped his 2017 Nissan Sentra on the Moonachie Avenue overpass near the Fiesta, law enforcement officials said. Smelling a strong odor of pot, they got Abudayya’s consent to search the vehicle and found a .380-caliber carbine with a loaded magazine, along with cash and several pair of pricey sneakers believed stolen during a home …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Wallington Driver Killed In RR Trestle Crash Wallington Driver Killed In RR Trestle Crash
Wallington Driver Killed In RR Trestle Crash A Wallington driver was killed Saturday night when his mini-SUV slammed into a railroad trestle near the Wood-Ridge border. The 60-year-old victim's vehicle slammed into a concrete support on Main Avenue near Al Ventura Road at 8:41 p.m., Police Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigations Unit joined borough police, firefighters and the Wallington Emergency Squad at the scene. The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Lyndhurst PD: Wood-Ridge Driver Kicked, Spit At Officers, Claimed He Had COVID Lyndhurst PD: Wood-Ridge Driver Kicked, Spit At Officers, Claimed He Had COVID
Lyndhurst PD: Wood-Ridge Driver Kicked, Spit At Officers, Claimed He Had COVID A drunk driver from Wood-Ridge kicked an off-duty Lyndhurst police lieutenant who stopped him for driving recklessly, then spit on the officer’s backups, claiming he had the coronavirus, authorities said. A recklessly-driven BMW driven by Joseph Marotta, 37, nearly hit Lt. Paul Haggerty’s car as he turned off Post Avenue onto Stuyvesant Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Haggerty alerted headquarters and followed the BMW as it headed back to Post Avenue, he said. Marotta pulled to the curb near the corner of Post and Willow as backup Officers Joseph White, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Firefighter Hospitalized In Pre-Dawn Wood-Ridge House Blaze Firefighter Hospitalized In Pre-Dawn Wood-Ridge House Blaze
Firefighter Hospitalized In Pre-Dawn Wood-Ridge House Blaze A firefighter who had difficulty breathing was hospitalized as a precaution during a pre-dawn blaze Sunday that ravaged a Wood-Ridge home. The Wood-Ridge Avenue fire came in as a second alarm around 2:30 a.m. and quickly went to a third after apparently beginning on a deck and spreading into the house. Firefighters had it knocked down within 45 minutes before it was officially placed under control shortly after 4 a.m. A house next door sustained some heat damage, responders said. Mutual aid responders either at the scene or on standby included firefighters from Carlstadt, East Rutherford…

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by Jerry DeMarco