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The 63-year-old Cliffside Park motorist’s 2011 Toyota Corolla was in a precarious position after veering across the shoulder of northbound 9W, hitting a rock wall, vaulting into a tree and then careening down the embankment shortly before 9 a.m., Tenafly Police Capt. Michael deMoncada said.
Tenafly police were joined at the scene by fellow officers from Englewood Cliffs and the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department, deMoncada said.
“Without hesitation, they scaled down a 6-foot rock wall embankment, waded through thick brush, poison ivy, and muddy conditions and ultimately entered an unstable, severely damaged vehicle in order to help our officers extricate and provide medical assistance to the incapacitated driver,” the captain said.
Officers got her out of the car and onto the shoulder of the PIP’s southbound lane, where paramedics from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center treated the victim before she was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, deMoncada said.
Although her injuries were serious, they weren’t considered life-threatening, he said.
Tenafly Volunteer Ambulance Corps members Tenafly firefighters also assisted, the captain said.
“Two tow trucks were needed to remove the vehicle from its final resting position,” he said.
“The cause of the crash is still under investigation,” deMoncada noted, “but at this time it appears it was a single-car crash where speed may have been a contributing factor.”
The captain said his department was “extremely grateful for the quick response and heroic assistance from our neighboring agencies; especially the officers from the Palisades Interstate Parkway PD and Englewood Cliffs PD.
“We are all fortunate that no first responders were hurt during this incident.”
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