Pickup Driver In Horrific Head-On Ridgewood Crash With 80-Year-Old Motorist Was DWI: Police

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 head-on crash on North Monroe Street in Ridgewood happened around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving*

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

Jerry DeMarco

01/16/2023 5:48 p.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.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Paterson and receive free news updates.