Last week, a New Jersey police officer suffered serious injuries after his police cruiser collided with another vehicle as he was responding to a police call. Both the officer and the other driver suffered serious injuries in the car accident, but they are expected to make a full recovery. The reason for the accident remains under investigation.
The car crash occurred when the Rutherford police officer was on his way to an early morning call for assistance. Suddenly, he collided with a Subaru that was driving on Highland Cross near Route 17. A preliminary investigation of the car accident showed that the driver of the Subaru crashed into the police cruiser, spinning it around and causing it to sideswipe the Subaru on the driver’s side.
Immediately after the accident, the Rutherford officer began to assist the other driver, and quickly summoned police and emergency services to the scene. The Fire Department reported putting out a small fire that broke out in the engine compartment of the Subaru.
Both the officer and the driver sustained injuries in the crash. They were transported to the University Medical in Hackensack, where they were treated for non life threatening injuries.
The officer had been on his way to assist another officer at a traffic stop at the time of the crash, so he was most likely traveling at high speeds. It is not yet clear whether he had his siren and emergency lights running at the time.
The same officer was involved in another crash 18 months earlier and just blocks away from the latest accident. In that situation, the officer’s cruiser struck a small pickup truck, and both the officer and the other driver were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.
Source: NorthJersey.com, “Rutherford police officer seriously injured in car crash,” Marlene Naanes, 2 June 2011
