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Daniel Brancato -- who already had DUI and drug possession charges on his record -- was driving through the East Ridgewood Avenue underground parking garage just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when the 2003 Ford county dump truck hit the ceiling, police said.
According to the official police report, Brancato told officers he panicked and drove out when debris and water began to fall.
Police, however, said Brancato first backed up into another car after hitting the ceiling, then put the truck into drive and hit two more vehicles, knocking them out of their parking spaces.
He continued on, hitting two more cars before reaching the exit, the police report says, adding that a sixth vehicle in the lot sustained debris and water damage.
Brancato sped from the lot -- with chunks of ceiling debris atop the truck -- and headed west on East Ridgewood Avenue, where it hit four more vehicles, all heading in the opposite direction, the report says.
Brancato kept going even after that, eventually turning onto Van Neste Square and into a Prospect Street parking lot, where police caught up with him.
They arrested Brancato on charges of carrying marijuana and Xanax and with being under the influence.
He also received summonses for leaving the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident, reckless driving and DWI in a school zone. He was later released pending a hearing.
As a result, Brancato will be bounced from a pre-Trial Intervention Program, through which he'd aimed to expunge arrests on charges of DUI and drug possession in Paramus, law enforcement sources told Daily Voice.
Multiple law enforcement sources said his driving record also includes six license suspensions.
ALL PHOTOS by Boyd A. Loving
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