Horrific Head-On Crash In Ridgewood Leaves Twisted Wreckage

A driver from Hawthorne was drunk when his pickup truck slammed head-on into an SUV driven by an 80-year-old Waldwick woman in Ridgewood, authorities charged.

The vehicles collided at the intersection of North Monroe Street and Fairmount Road around 11:30 p.m. Jan. 13.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

What was left of the Chevrolet Silverado.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

Check back for more details on the crash in Ridgewood around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

Jerry DeMarco

01/14/2023 8:30 a.m.

Thomas Michalski, 59, was headed south on North Monroe Street when his Chevy Silverado crossed the double-yellow line Fairmount Road and collided with a northbound Honda CRV around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke said.

Both drivers were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, the chief said.

Michaski was charged with DWI, making an unsafe lane change and not wearing a seat belt, she said.

Ridgewood police were joined at the scene by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Investigations Unit, village firefighters, the Ridgewood Ambulance Corps, a Midland Park police officer who helped with traffic and the Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence.

Boyd A. Loving took the photos and contributed to this account.

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