Port Authority police: Fleeing driver was drunk when car struck traffic officer

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A Port Authority police officer directing traffic near the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City this morning injured his leg when he was struck by a car driven by a drunken motorist who refused his orders to pull over, an authority spokesperson said this morning.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

09/30/2013 2:52 p.m.

The incident occurred 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of 12th Street and Marin Boulevard.

The uniformed officer tried to stop the eastbound 2008 Honda Civic for a traffic violation, but the traffic kept going, hitting him with the vehicle, the authority’s Joseph Pentangelo told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Other officers responded and caught up to the car as it got stuck in traffic near the tunnel told plaza, he said.

One of the officers was injured pulling the uncooperative motorist out of the vehicle when he resisted, Pentangelo said.

The driver, 25-year-old Kahalid Abdulla of Clifton, was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, reckless driving, DWI, eluding, resisting arrest and drug possession, he said.

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