Rutherford officer crash seriously injured in crash

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Last Thursday, a Rutherford police officer and a New York man were involved in a car accident on Route 17 which left both injured and caused a large section of the road to be closed down for over six hours. Sources said the police car had been travelling east on Highland Cross in Rutherford around 12:15 a.m. when another vehicle travelling north on Route 17 struck the passenger's side of the police car, which sent it spinning and caused it to sideswipe the driver's side of the other vehicle. The officer had apparently been travelling to assist another officer at a traffic stop, but police said it isn't clear whether the officer's siren or lights were on at the time of the accident. Normally an officer would turn on their lights and siren when responding to a traffic stop. The officer was apparently involved in a another accident in 2009 not far from the scene of last Thursday's accident, but sources didn't say who was found to be at fault for that collision. Following the accident, the officer was able to call for an ambulance and aid the other driver in getting out of his vehicle. According to police records, a short time after the accident occurred, a fire broke near the other vehicle's engine. Firefighters were able to put that fire out. Luckily, neither the officer nor the other driver was seriously hurt in the accident, and both were taken to a Hackensack hospital for treatment of injuries. The accident is reportedly still under investigation. Source: northjersey.com, "Rutherford police officer seriously injured in car crash," Marlene Naanes, 2 June 2011.