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The incident unfolded around 1:07 a.m. when Maywood officer John Burns spotted a vehicle at the intersection of Maywood Avenue and Lenox Avenue with its driver, Florencio Hernandez-Rivera, asleep at the wheel, the department said.
Upon waking the driver, Hernandez-Rivera, 49, drove away and crashed into a sign on the property of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church. Officer Burns instructed Hernandez-Rivera to turn off the vehicle, but he refused to comply. When Sgt. Christopher Nichols arrived on the scene, Hernandez-Rivera accelerated forward, ramming his vehicle head-on into Sgt. Nichols' K9 unit.
Hernandez-Rivera continued trying to flee but was stopped when his vehicle became stuck against the K9 unit. Officer Burns and Sgt. Nichols were able to safely remove him from the vehicle and place him under arrest.
Both officers sustained minor injuries, and although the K9s, Ryker and Phoenyx, were inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, they were uninjured.
Hernandez-Rivera faces charges of Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol/Drugs, Eluding in a Motor Vehicle, Aggravated Assault while Fleeing/Eluding, and Criminal Mischief. He is being held at the Bergen County Jail pending a court appearance.
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