Passaic woman charged after leaving tot in SUV

A 33-year-old Passaic woman was charged with endangering the welfare of a child yesterday after she accidentally left a toddler inside her SUV for about three hours in Clifton, police said.

The 2-year-old boy, also of Passaic, was not breathing and had al most no pulse when she finally no ticed him and got help, but the toddler was expected to fully recover, Clifton Detective Sgt. Robert Bracken said last night.

Meira Lebovitz spent part of the day carpooling six children, including several of her own. Later, after dropping off five of the children, she stopped at the Home Depot in Clifton at about 2 p.m., not realizing the 2-year-old was still asleep in the back, the detective said.

While in the store parking lot on Bloomfield Avenue, Lebovitz suddenly noticed she had forgotten to drop off one child, who had fallen asleep in the rear of her Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle, Bracken said. Lebovitz, a friend of the boy’s family, rushed the child into the store, the detective said.

The child was dehydrated, had a temperature of 102.6 degrees Fahrenheit, was not breathing and did not have a noticeable pulse, Bracken said. The boy ap peared to have advanced heat stroke, he said.

Two customers in the store began cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child as they waited for emergency rescue crews, according to the detective. Nj.com

Breaking News Mayor (sammy) Samuel Rivera to plead guilty tomorrow

Passaic New Jersey   Mayor Samuel Rivera will plead guilty on Friday tomorrow ( 05/09/2008 ) to taking bribes last year.

 The mayor will be resigning from his office tomorrow. He will plead guilty for a plea deal. As more will come we will update you.

You heard this story first from P.C.J.N 

Elevator gets jammed with patient in cardiac arrest in Saint Mary’s Hospital

PASSAIC — There’s a special heavy equipment unit in the area, a response to the tragedy of 9/11, that stands ready to dig, saw and torch its way into any structure where someone might be trapped.

But sometimes, readiness isn’t enough to prevent death.

Such was the case Saturday night: Firefighters got through metal and wallboard to rescue a large woman trapped in an elevator at St. Mary’s Hospital, but she died the next morning.

It was a harrowing rescue effort, fire officials said. City firefighters responded to a 911 call at 8:39 p.m. of a person in cardiac arrest trapped in an elevator. The elevator was stuck between two floors, and the woman was too large to be pulled through the escape hatch in its ceiling, Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said Monday.

When rescuers discovered that they would need to rip through the wall of the elevator shaft to extricate the woman — as well as a doctor and two nurses trapped with her — they called in the special rescue unit run by the Paterson Fire Department.

“Once we exhausted all our tools and equipment … we had to come up with another plan,” Trentacost said.

Six Paterson firefighters appeared with saws and torches. After destroying a bathroom wall on one floor and a surgery room wall on another, they finally extricated the four people at 10:12 p.m.

The Paterson Urban Search and Rescue unit is one of nine such units statewide created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after 9/11. The units employ special tools, including torches and saws that can cut through thick metal, said Paterson Deputy Fire Chief Joseph A. Murray.

The woman weighed more than 300 pounds, Trentacost said. It took six men to lift her. The woman had suffered a heart attack before entering the elevator. She was being transported from the emergency room to the intensive care unit by the three hospital workers, who administered CPR to the woman while awaiting rescue, the chief said.

The elevator malfunctioned mechanically, he said.

When the woman was finally extracted from the elevator, she was conscious, but died early Sunday morning, said hospital spokeswoman Vanessa Warner.

St. Mary’s Hospital has no building-code violations on file, Trentacost said. A private company inspects the city’s commercial elevators twice a year, and the hospital’s elevators passed those tests, he said. Routinely, the hospital has fixed building-code violations immediately, Trentacost said. He characterized the hospital’s safety record as “very good.”

Trentacost characterized the Saturday night rescue as “very fast” considering the circumstances. Despite the death, the rescue efforts went as well as they could, Murray said.

“The system worked absolutely the way it was supposed to,” he said. NorthJersey.com

Protesters say police roughed up Arab family while family was resisting arrest

PATERSON — More than 200 Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans marched and chanted slogans Friday against police tactics that left members of a Syrian-American family injured and facing felony assault charges.

“Justice to the Muslim community,” they shouted as they held placards above their heads. “Justice to the Haq family. Bring the abusers to justice.”

The crowd gathered outside City Hall to protest the bruises, a broken nose and deep gashes that three members of the Haq family — mother, father and eldest son — suffered after they allegedly grappled with three police officers Wednesday inside their Dakota Street home.

The officers came to investigate a 911 call of adult-on-child domestic violence at the house. Police say the eldest son, Saer Haq, 26, threatened to kill the officers.

The melee ended when the officers arrested the three Haq family members who allegedly assaulted them: Saer Haq; his father, Sammy Haq, 52; and his mother, Montha Haq, 49.

Also arrested was Ammar Haq, Saer Haq’s 21-year-old brother, and a neighbor, Gunnur Kulaksiz, 42.

Police officials maintained that the officers’ response was appropriate under the circumstances. They say Saer, Sammy and Montha Haq jumped on the officers as they were trying to arrest Saer Haq, who has an arrest record that includes several resisting-arrest offenses and one assault charge stemming from a Feb. 14, 2005, domestic violence complaint, according to police records released Friday.

“The police department and the police are justified to use whatever force to affect an arrest,” Police Chief James Wittig said after the protesters left City Hall to rally before the Public Safety Complex on Broadway.

Some protesters said they were not so much bothered by the fact that the five were arrested but that three of them were bloodied in the process.

“How much force do they need to arrest people?” said Mohammed Latif, 29, who traveled from Linwood in Atlantic County after seeing images of the injured family in an Arabic-language newspaper. “That just reminds me of Abu Ghraib.”

Wittig said: “How about the police officers who were injured?”

Two of the officers involved were treated at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for minor injuries and released.

Friday’s protest was mostly peaceful, minus a short tussle between protest organizer Hani Awadallah and Mayor Joey Torres, in which the mayor tried to keep Awadallah from grabbing a microphone used during the mayor’s short press conference. So Awadallah used his voice instead. He shouted into the cold afternoon air:

“We came here in peace and we will be leaving in peace.”

You Can Save A Life ; Just take a fiew minutes and wipe the Ice/Snow off your car

 

Above is a picture of a car that was smashed from falling ice. Please be considerate for your fellow freinds. Please take the extra fiew minutes to clear snow or ice off your car. Please use caution when driving leave extra time.

It was unseasonably warm last week, but it didn’t keep me from encountering people who sympathized — just barely — with this column’s call to ban the kind of road hazard that we call the Snow and Ice That Fall Twice.

That’s the kind of white junk that leaves the other guy’s car or truck, hits your windshield and makes your whole life flash in front of you. You know the kind:

* The Route 17 kind that killed Ridgewood’s Michael Eastman nearly 12 years ago.

* The Route 287 kind that caused Hawthorne’s Bob and Mary Mahon to chase after the car whose icy load smashed their windshield last year.

* The Route 80 kind that ran Kinnelon’s Tara Varner and her 2-year-old off the road last month.

Shouldn’t New Jersey fine drivers whose vehicles carry snow? Currently, statute 39:4-77.1 makes it illegal only when it causes damage or injury.

Cathy Eastman understands this because the vehicle whose icy load crushed her husband’s skull was long gone by the time police arrived. Tara, Bob, Mary and most of the 2,000 readers who sent me petitions early this year also get it.

But not some folks I’ve encountered. “There are thousands of SUVs, many driven by women,” said Pequannock’s E.L. Quigley. “They can’t clean ice off the tops of their vehicles.”

Ray R. also sympathizes, but:

“Do you have suggestions for clearing … snow from an SUV that’s been out overnight WITHOUT damaging the hood, roof rack or moon roof?” asked the Fair Lawn man. “Pushing snow off is easy, but after past storms, thick solid ice and packed snow didn’t budge after the car’s heater was on for 20 minutes.”

* Run a garden hose over the car with the heater running, but do this for short periods to avoid cracking the windshield.

* Put old cardboard, canvas or a rug over the vehicle before it snows, and yank it off after the storm.

* Run the engine for an hour, long enough to free frozen snow, or at least to help clear it.

Some consider all this unnecessary. One woman, 72, said: “If I can clean my SUV, so can anybody.” Cathy Eastman, who’s 5 feet 1, says she does it. NorthJersey.com And Passaic News.

Car Plunges off Route 21 and falls to the ground upside down;

Passaic New Jersey —Three people escaped death early Sunday morning after the car they were riding in plunged off rt 21 onto a local street , police and fire officials said.The male driver and the two passengers were able to escape from the vehicle before Police and E.M.S arrived.

The accident happened on Rt 21 but the car fell about 15 feet to the ground upside down  near Columbia and Passaic street. According to police, the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle around 1 a.m. The car struck the guard rail, flipped over and took a  tree down and fell to the ground. The rear window of the car popped out, allowing an escape route. Police said the driver and passengers were taken by Hatzolah Of North Jersey And Passaic E.M.S as well as Paramedics from the scene. Their conditions are not known at this time but they were transported to Saint Joes Trauma Center

Passaic New Jersey House Fire

Passaic New Jersey Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire which heavily damaged a 2 story house in the Passaic Park section of Passaic. Police said the two-story house on Main Ave at Rutgers caught fire about 11.45pm (AEST) on Saturday.Residents either side of the home were evacuated and firefighters were able to establish no one was inside the home before extinguishing the fire.

However, the home was heavily damaged.

Several Departments helped out including Wallington and Carlstadt Fire Dept. Also Hatzolah Of North Jersey was on stand by.

Snow is on the way

A snowstorm expected to cross New Jersey tonight might make tomorrow’s morning commute a little messy for some travelers but carries the potential for significant snow in other areas.

Anticipated to hit the state around 9 p.m., it could last until noon tomorrow, said Valerie Meola, meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

“The storm is over the Southeastern states, and it’s moving up the coast,” Meola said. “How far the storm lands off the coast will determine how much snow falls on our area.”

Depending on the track of the storm, weather officials said Essex, Union, Hudson, Bergen and Passaic counties could see between 6 and 12 inches. Sussex and Morris counties could see between four to seven inches.

Middlesex, western Monmouth and Mercer counties could experience 2 to 4 inches, beginning first as rain.

Warren, Hunterdon and Somerset counties could see nearly 2 inches as well, Meola said.

Temperatures tonight will plummet below freezing for most of the state, Meola said.

Tomorrow, temperatures will hover around the high 30s in the northern part of the state and in the 40s farther south.

Nawal Qarooni may be reached at nqarooni@starledger.com or (732) 404-8082.

4 teens arrested in cemetery vandalism

Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the damage done to nearly 500 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in New Brunswick, a rabbi from one of the two synagogues that uses the cemetery said today.Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park said he met with officials from Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan’s office today and was told the juveniles, ages 15 to 17, had been arrested for causing the damage at Poile Zedek cemetery.

Bassous, however, said he does not know if investigators determined the motive behind the incident, which authorities are treating as a bias crime. The prosecutor’s office is expected to issue a statement later today.

Cameras would catch red light violators

 

The Legislature has approved a measure allowing municipalities to place cameras at intersections to photograph cars that run red lights, then issue tickets to their drivers.

Under the bill, a municipality would apply to the state Department of Transportation to test a camera at one or more intersections for a five-year period to determine if it improves traffic safety. The cameras would take high-resolution digital pictures of any cars running red lights. After reviewing a photo to verify there was a violation, police would be able to mail a summons to the owner of the vehicle.

Such cameras are used in more than 300 U.S. communities, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “These cameras do save lives,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen).”They do prevent accidents. They do save dollars.”

The Assembly approved the bill today 49-25. When it came up before the Senate, it initially received only 17 votes, but in a second try later this evening it passed 22-1.

The main opposition came from Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) who argued cameras would increase rear end accidents as motorists hit their brakes at yellow lights to avoid being caught in the middle of an intersection. He added, “I don’t want a Big Brother sytstem firing off summonses in the mail. It is not a good public safety issue.” Nj

Paterson, Clifton see surge in robberies

Paterson and Clifton police are continuing to see a surge in robberies, including a half dozen since Friday — two in broad daylight and two at gunpoint.

The victims — three men, a juvenile and two women — were not seriously injured in any of the incidents, police said. It’s unknown if any of the robberies are connected.

In Clifton, a 53-year-old woman was walking on Main Avenue near Park Slope when someone ran up from behind and snatched her purse around 11:15 a.m. Monday, Detective Capt. Robert Rowan said. The robber, described as a young black man wearing a black jacket, black hat and dark pants, fled on foot, police said. The purse contained less than $20 and numerous credit cards.

About a half-hour later, a 12-year-old boy was grabbed from behind and asked if he’d ever been robbed before as he walked passed a used car lot at Lexington Avenue and Van Riper Avenue. The robber, described as an adult Hispanic man in his early 20s, wearing all black clothing, took $5 and a cellphone from the juvenile, who ran to a friend’s house and called police.

“We’ve had a significant amount of robberies this month,” said Rowan, adding that middle-aged men and women had been targets in a string of recent strong-arm robberies. “It’s particularly troublesome when an adult is robbing a kid,” he said.

In Paterson, a waitress on her way home from work around 7 p.m. Friday was robbed of her purse after a brief struggle with a robber on Maryland Avenue, where she was punched in the face, said Lt. Anthony Traina. The robber, a man described as 5 feet 8, dark skin, in his late 20s, wearing dark colored clothes with a hood, fled on foot. The purse, which did not contain any money, was later recovered, said Traina.

Around 11:30 p.m. that evening, a 21-year-old man walking from his girlfriend’s house was robbed by three men in dark clothing, who approached him and told him to get on the ground at 12th Avenue and East 16th Street, Traina said. The victim said one of the men pointed a gun to his head and pistol-whipped him before robbing him of $20, said Traina.

On Sunday, another 21-year-old man was robbed on Governor Street by two men wearing ski masks, who brandished a gun, police said. The men fled with a wallet, which had $20, said Traina.

Shortly after midnight on Monday, a 24-year-old man was robbed by two men, wearing hooded sweatshirts, on Harrison Street and Graham Avenue, said Traina. The robbers got away with $23 and a cellphone, police said. NorthJersey

Police Cracking down on Drunk Driving

As the clock runs out on 2007 tonight, police departments across North Jersey will have additional officers on the streets looking for drivers who got behind the wheel after having one too many.

Police will be on the lookout for the usual telltale signs: erratic driving, slow driving and cars without headlights. Anyone caught driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent will be arrested, police chiefs said.

“We’ll have Breathalyzer operators on duty,” said Little Ferry Chief Ralph Verdi. “If somebody’s drinking and driving and they come through town, they’re going to get caught and they’re going to get arrested.”

Police chiefs are eager to show they mean business when it comes to drunken-driving enforcement. Of 772 auto accident deaths in New Jersey last year, 341, or 44 percent, were alcohol-related, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2005, alcohol was a factor in 38 percent of New Jersey traffic deaths.

New Jersey lowered the legal blood-alcohol level to 0.08 percent from 0.10 percent in 2004. First-time offenders caught driving with a level over 0.08 but under 0.10 will lose their licenses for three months and pay $250 to $400 in fines. First-time offenders with a blood-alcohol level over 0.10 will lose their licenses for seven months to a year and will be fined $300 to $500.

For the New Jersey State Police, the annual New Year’s drunken-driving crackdown began Friday at 6 p.m., said Sgt. Stephen Jones. In North Jersey, troopers are paying particular attention to the highways that feed the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, including Routes 80 and 95 and the New Jersey Turnpike, Jones said.

Jones said the state police typically make more drunken-driving arrests around Memorial Day and Labor Day than on New Year’s Eve, perhaps because so much emphasis is placed on enforcement at the end of the year.

“The actual New Year’s Eve night, I think people plan that out a little more in advance,” Jones said. “They’ll plan to stay places overnight or they may take public transportation. There’s generally more forethought.”

Still, police chiefs said they aren’t taking any chances.

In Ridgewood, the enforcement push was scheduled to begin Saturday. Officers planned to do “walk-throughs” in the village’s half-dozen bars and in restaurants that serve liquor, said Chief William Corcoran.

“Our bartenders are keenly aware of their responsibilities,” Corcoran said. “It’s important we walk through the bars. Our mission is to keep the residents and community safe. We don’t need any needless deaths.”

Officials in several departments said they planned to pay overtime for extra officers using money from the state’s Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund. The Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which administers the fund, requires that 50 percent of any grant be used to pay for overtime patrols. The remainder may be used to buy equipment or provide training related to drunken-driving enforcement.

In Lyndhurst, roving patrols will look for drunken drivers, using money from the Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund to cover the overtime, said Chief James B. O’Connor.

The Palisades Interstate Parkway Police plan to station officers along the highway in New Jersey, where both the Rockefeller and Alpine lookouts will be open, officials said.

Woman injured in crash on GSP

CLIFTON — A driver was left with serious leg injuries and traffic was snarled for two hours following a crash on the Garden State Parkway this morning, police said. At about 8:30 Monday morning, Diane Nachbaur, 49, of Woodcliff Lake slammed her car into the guardrail on the northbound Garden State Parkway just before the Exit 155P ramp to Route 19, according to Sgt. Stephen Jones of the state police. He said no other vehicles were involved and that Nachbaur may have fallen asleep at the wheel. Nachbaur was airlifted to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, where she was undergoing surgery, police said. One witness, who didn’t want to be named, said she saw a woman with a mangled leg lying face down in a pool of blood on the highway. “It looked like her leg was torn off,” the witness said. “It was horrifying.” A man and a young girl stood by watching, but it was unclear if they were related to the driver. northjersey.com

Passaic New Jersey Motor Vehicle Accident. Both Cars Everyone Wearing Seat Belts only minor injuries

Passaic New Jersey–Last night at about 6:00 there was a two car accident at the corner of Aycrigg And Pennington. The accident happened after one of the cars ran the stop sign. Hatzolah Of North Jersey transported one patient to Hackensack University Medical Center and the other two Patients refused medical care. One of the cars were totalled. Editor’s Note: Please make sure to wear your seat belt.

Cop killed wasn’t wearing seatbelt

PATERSON — An off-duty police officer who was killed this week when he lost control of his vehicle did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, a state police spokesman said.

Christopher Dotter, a 13-year veteran of the Paterson Police Department, died early Monday after he crashed on Interstate 80 near exit 60. Dotter was traveling at 2:26 a.m. in the right lane when he began to drive off the side of the road, state police said.

It has not been determined if the force of Dotter’s crash caused his seatbelt to come undone, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, a department spokesman. It was also unclear if a seatbelt would have saved the 43-year-old officer’s life. NorthJersey.com

Five Car Accident brings out 15 Volunteers from Hatzolah E.M.S.

Passaic New Jersey Five car motor vehicle accident. on the corner of Brook Ave and Passaic Ave in the heart of the Jewish Community. The accident occurred at approximately  1 am early this morning. Hatzolah Of North Jersey E.M.S. was first on scene at the accident. Hatzolah E.M.S. requested Paramedics as well as Fire Department for one aided in the back seat that was trapped in one of the cars. Hatzolah E.M.S transported four patients with paramedics aboard and Passaic E.M.S. transported one patient. All of the 5 patients were transported to Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson. One of the drivers of one of the cars was under 18. Passaic Police and Passaic County Sherrif also on scene. One resident who heard the crash said he heard the accident and he was amazed by the 15 Hatzolah Volunteer’s that responded so quickly. He said, “It’s truly amazing to have such a reliable organization”.

Passaic Police Officer catches Clifton thieves

CLIFTON — Police arrested two men and two juveniles suspected in-several strong-arm robberies of middle-aged men and women committed this month in Clifton and Paterson, authorities said Friday.

The four males, 16- to 20-years-old, were apprehended early Friday, shortly after three of them allegedly attempted to rob a 52-year-old man returning to his Prescott Avenue home in Clifton, Detective Capt. Robert Rowan of the Clifton Police Department said.

The would-be victim, sensing he was about to be robbed, pretended he had a pistol by stuffing his hand in his pocket. The three would-be attackers fled, Rowan said.

Witnesses provided a description of both the would-be robbers and their getaway vehicle, allowing a Passaic police officer to pull them over shortly afterwards, Rowan said.

A Clifton detective discovered a 10-inch knife in the vehicle.

Within a few hours of their arrest, Clifton Detective Robert Tillie used a cell phone found on one of the juveniles to link the four to a recent Paterson robbery, in which a 49-year-old, mentally disabled man was assaulted for $15 and his cell phone, Rowan said.

Clifton police were attempting to see if the four males also are responsible for several robberies in and around the Lakeview section of the city, including one committed Wednesday night in which a 54-year-old woman was robbed of her end-of-the-year bonus check and $400 earmarked for her family’s Christmas presents, Rowan said.

In the meantime, Clifton police have charged both Paterson men — Maison Booker, 20, of Sheridan Avenue and Raheem Beal, 18, of Ryle Avenue — with unlawful weapons possession, conspiring to commit robbery and employing a juvenile in commission of a crime.

Booker and Beal were being held Friday at the Clifton Municipal Jail. Bail information was not immediately available.

The juveniles, both 16, were charged with juvenile delinquency and were being held in the Passaic County Juvenile Detention Center in Haledon, according to authorities.

Teen in hospital after stabbing on Paulison Ave.

PASSAIC — A 17-year-old boy was reported in “life-threatening” condition Monday night after receiving a lung-piercing stab wound from a group of bandana-wearing thugs, police said.

Police had no immediate suspects and were exploring the possibility that a street gang was behind the attack, said Capt. Ross Capuana of the Passaic Police Department.

At about 3:45 p.m., the teenage victim was walking with a friend along Paulison Avenue near School 11 when they were attacked.

About 15 young men, believed to be between the ages of 16 and 21, assaulted them, according to eyewitnesses. The attackers covered their faces with bandanas and scarves and tried to rob the two young males of their coats. They ended up roughing them up instead, police said.

The 17-year-old, who Capuana said might be a Passaic High School student and did not appear to have a troubled history, fell to the ground as his attackers scattered. It could not be confirmed if he attended Passaic High School.

But the juvenile did not realize he had been seriously stabbed until he tried to take off his coat and found it torn and soaked in blood, Capuana said. The friend was not seriously injured in the attack, he said.

The teenager was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital and later transferred to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, where he was to undergo surgery Monday night, Capuana said.

Capuana said that while the 17-year-old was conscious, alert and able to speak, doctors considered his condition “life-threatening” until he emerged from surgery. His condition was not known Monday night.

Clifton Police Officer Was Injured When Route 19 Turns Into A Car Skating Rank

Clifton New Jersey- – Clifton Police got several reports at about 6:45 Pm of several cars spinning out of control near the Broad Street exit on Rt 19. The Clifton officers got on scene and advised their dispatcher that they should call the State to come salt the Highway due to the Highway being like an Ice Skating Rank. Moments after the officer advised the dispatcher of the condition of the Highway another passenger car skid right in to one of the Police cruisers. The police officers car was pushed about 30 feet forward all-though their was very little damage to the vehicles. The Officer was taken to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Passaic by Clifton Fire Dept E.M.S. No one else was reported to have any injuries. The Route 19 Highway was closed down by the Passaic County Sherrifs Dept. untill the salt trucks come to salt the Highway and is safe.P.C.J.N was the first to report this story.

Not very smart but true

 Tonight at 500 Broadway their was a report of fire at a Delta Gas station on the corner of Broadway and Brook. The call came over as a gas fire coming out of the ground from the gas lines. It turns out yes their was a fire on top of the snow multiple Police And Fire Trucks pulled up. The Chief who was first on scene after Police,went over to the fire and realize it was a Fire on top of the snow .The Fire Dept Quickly hosed it out and the fire was put out. After a small investigation they found out that the Gas attendant took Gasoline and poured it on the snow to melt the snow. Which is extremely dangerous. Well now the Gas Station has to deal with the arson Squad as well as several other agencies and fines.

N.Y.C. Traffic Alert

N.Y.C. has suspended alternate side parking for tomorrow due to Snow removal. Don’t forget you still have to pay the meter’s. Also tomorrow is a grid lock alert day. Have a wonderful and safe day tomorrow.

New Jersey road crews prepping for Thursday snow storm

TRENTON, N.J. – Road crews around the state were gearing up Wednesday for a winter storm expected to drop as much as 10  inches of snow in northern New Jersey on Thursday.

The National Weather Service was expected to issue a winter storm watch for Warren, Sussex, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties for Thursday morning through late Thursday night.

Forecasters expect the storm won’t hit until after morning rush hour, with the worst weather coming late Thursday afternoon.

“It looks like northern Jersey is definitely going to be hardest hit with the snow,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Wanton. He said the southern half of the state would mostly see sleet and freezing rain.

State road crews said they were prepared to handle whatever the storm brings.

“We’re in a pretty good situation,” said Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which also operates the Parkway.

“All of our equipment is ready to go; it’s not all worn and torn from an entire season of snow,” he said. “We’re pretty much just under full capacity for our salt.”

Alan Hicks, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said Newark Liberty International Airport was prepared with 500 tons each of salt and sand, as well as thousands of gallons of deicing fluids and snow removal equipment.

Passaic-Man Arrested in Connection with Paramus Park Mall Stabbing

PARAMUS, N.J. – There was horror for stunned holiday shoppers at the Paramus Park mall.

Police said a bleeding 18-year-old staggered in with a knife in his neck and collapsed Monday night.

Deputy Police Chief Richard Cary said police believe the man was stabbed outside the mall’s main western entrance.
A man suspected in the stabbing was arrested around 1:15 a.m. in Passaic, Cary said. He did not release other details.

The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center. Cary said he was out of surgery Tuesday morning and was expected to survive

Firefighter Injured in Clifton

Clifton N.J. A firefighter was taken to the hospital after he tripped down a flight of stairs and injured himself during a service call Saturday night at a Lakeview section home, a fire official said.At about 7 p.m. Saturday, the fire department was called to 77 E. Second St., to extinguish a mattress fire sparked by a shorted-out electrical outlet, Deputy Chief Leo Loder said.

The firefighter, George Kruckmeyer, was carrying the extinguished mattress down the stairs when he slipped.

Kruckmeyer was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries to his left leg and released on Saturday night, Deputy Chief Thomas Lyons said on Sunday.

— Ed Beeson and Paul Brubaker

Report: Cops on stakeout stymied by a parking ticket

Bayonne detectives conducting surveillance in an unmarked car were about to spring on their target, cops said, when they were stopped by one pesky little problem: They got a parking ticket.

According to police, parking enforcement officer Susan Wojtkowski issued a summons Friday to detectives in an unmarked car in the midtown area for failing to feed the meter – even after they showed their badges and told her they were on the job.

Cops were staking out the target of a narcotics investigation and began arguing with Wojtkowski after she insisted on giving them a ticket, police said.

While they were arguing, Wojtkowski stood in front of the car and the person they were staking out got away, reports said.

Wojtkowski, 38, of Avenue A, was charged with obstructing a governmental function, police said, and was released on her own recognizance. Nj.com

Passaic woman found dead in apartment

ED BEESON
HERALD NEWS

PASSAIC — The body of Kimberly Santos, 21, was discovered Sunday at about 5:30 p.m., inside her apartment at 87 Broadway, Detective Sgt. Hershel Rawls said. Santos’ roommate discovered her body, he said.

The police have no suspects and, citing the ongoing investigation, they refused to disclose how Santos was killed. But Rawls said Santos probably knew her murderer because there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment.

She was the fourth homicide victim this year in Passaic, police said. The Paramedics had pronounced her dead on scene with Passaic E.M.S on scene

Reyes, who based on the preliminary investigation was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene

CLIFTON — Police have identified the man killed in a head-on collision on Route 46 early Sunday morning as a 19-year-old Passaic resident.

Carlos Reyes of Passaic was in the front passenger seat of a black Acura traveling westbound on Route 46 a little after 4 a.m. Sunday, when the car collided with a beige Nissan Altima that was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane, Lt. John Link of the Clifton Police Department said Monday.

Reyes, who based on the preliminary investigation was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene, Link said.

It is unclear why the driver of the Nissan Altima, whom police identify as Leighton Alarcon, 21, of Prospect Park, was traveling in the wrong direction, Link said.

Alarcon, who was also not wearing a seat belt, and the driver of the Acura in which Reyes was a passenger, Lenyn Munoz-Paredes, 24, were both taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson with major head injuries. Munoz-Paredes was wearing a seat belt, Link said.

“We are still investigating aspects such as the cause, where they were going, where they were coming from,” Link said.

Clifton New Jersey Another life is taken on Rt-21

Clifton New Jersey There was a fatal accident this morning at about 4:05 am on Rt-21 South by Rt-46 and Rt-20 when a car was driving down Rt-21 a 3 lane 55 mph highway the wrong way and hit a oncoming car at high speeds. The crash had 2 people in 1 car and 1 in the other the accident took the life of 1 left 1 in likely to expire condition 1 in critical condition. At the time of the accident Clifton F.D. had no Ambulances available so they sent 4 fire trucks all of Clifton’s Fire Fighter’s are E.M.T. Garfield E.M.S. Passaic E.M.S. Nutley E.M.S and Hatzolah E.M.S. all were on scene 2 Pt were xported to Saint Joes Trauma Center in Paterson with Paramedics aboard. The Highway is expected to be closed for most of the day for the investigation.

You heard this story first on Passainews.wordpress.com

Passaic cops defend use of force

PASSAIC — The Passaic County prosecutor said the police shooting of an unarmed city woman “appears to be justified” after she used her car to ram police vehicles and strike an officer during a low-speed chase.

Michele M. Moleti, 34, who was hit by six of the estimated 20 bullets that police fired into her mother’s 1999 Nissan Altima, remained under armed guard Thursday at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson. Her condition was listed as “guarded,” less dire than “serious,” police said.

It was unclear Thursday precisely why Moleti, a former Clifton High School softball star who has had recent run-ins with the law, led police on a slow pursuit through Clifton and into Passaic. That pursuit ended in what was the third shooting involving Clifton police this year.

Residents of the neighborhood near Clifton’s Weasel Brook Park said that they had noticed an unfamiliar car parked in front a fire hydrant on Clinton Avenue as early as 4 p.m. Wednesday. Shortly after 9:20 p.m., Clifton police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of 204 Clinton Ave.

Two patrol cars approached and boxed in the car with Moleti in it. Officers got out and saw Moleti asleep at the wheel, said Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano in a news conference Thursday. The officers attempted to wake her. When she did not respond, they tried opening her door with a Slim Jim, a police-issued lock-picking device.

Moleti stirred and locked the door. The officers tried to unlock the door again, but Moleti pushed the button down again.

At some point, she started her car and tried to pull out, smacking the patrol cars behind and in front of her. Police said one of the officers was hit as she was trying to get out. Neighbors on Clinton Avenue said they watched Moleti barely miss hitting an officer as she struck the car and tried to drive off.

The police jumped in their cruisers and started to follow her. One pulled in front of Moleti after she turned on Westervelt Avenue, but she kept driving. They proceeded to make two circuits around a wedge-shaped block bounded by Clinton, Westervelt and De Mott avenues.

“It was like Keystone Kops,” said Michael David, a 64-year-old resident, who ran outside after hearing the commotion on his quiet street.

Meanwhile, neighbors said, a firetruck and an off-duty probation officer living on Clinton Avenue joined the chase. They sped after Moleti after she took off on De Mott Avenue.

The chase continued through local roads and then onto the southbound lanes of Route 21, Avigliano said. Moleti exited in Passaic, where a pair of Clifton narcotics detectives stationed themselves to join the pursuit. The officers notified Passaic police and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, who left the pursuit in Clifton’s hands, Clifton police Capt. Robert Rowan said.

Police used their vehicles to box Moleti in at the intersection of Gregory and Main avenues.

The officers stepped out of their cars and approached Moleti. But she allegedly rammed one of the vehicles and hit one of the narcotics detectives. The officers drew their service weapons and fired into the car. Avigliano said as many as 20 shots were fired at Moleti.

Six bullets pierced her neck, chest and arm. But she did not stop. Police followed her as she drove away. She drove to Lafayette Avenue, turned into a driveway and came to a stop. Police wrestled her out of the vehicle.

Twenty minutes after it started, the chase ended about one block away from the apartment on Boulevard that Moleti shares with her mother.

“I’m just as baffled as everybody else right now that this happened, and I haven’t gotten any answers from the police yet,” her mother, Rose Moleti, told WABC-TV in New York.

Avigliano, whose office is leading the investigation of the shooting, would not release the names of the four Clifton police officers involved. They remain on duty, said Chief Robert Ferreri. Detective Capt. Robert Rowan said all four men are veterans of the force. Two of the officers were treated and released from St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center on Wednesday night, one for a hand injury and one for a leg injury, authorities said.

Avigliano would not comment when asked if Moleti was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the pursuit.

He said at minimum, she’ll be charged with eluding police, attempt to commit aggravated assault or homicide and resisting arrest.

“Police cannot use deadly force unless their life is in danger,” Avigliano said.

The prosecutor said his shooting unit will investigate to determine whether police acted justifiably. In June, Clifton police shot Garfield resident John Kubasta six times after he drove away from a traffic stop and led police on a chase. In April, police shot Aleksander Malek after he wielded a machete and a pipe. Both men survived the shootings.

Terence Persaud, an emergency medical technician who lives at the Lafayette Avenue home where Moleti stopped, said he awoke to find his yard full of uniformed and plainclothes police officers. He saw Moleti on the ground, her hair shaking wildly as police circled her.

“She was yelling and screaming with the cops,” said Persaud, 40. “They were trying to calm her down.”

His neighbors described hearing the pops of gunfire shortly before Moleti’s car and the police behind her descended on the avenue. On Thursday afternoon, evidence of the struggle remained, with shattered glass lying in Persaud’s driveway. Surgeon’s gloves and a dozen alcohol packets littered Lafayette Avenue.

Jeffrey Meano, who said he and Moleti dated for seven years, said family tragedies have haunted her. Her father, Ronald, died during her junior year of high school. Her brother, Mark, died last year at age 35. Illnesses took other family members and her own dreams of becoming a teacher were frequently frustrated.

“She wasn’t a dangerous person. She was a person who was depressed,” Meano said. “Every time she turned around, she was getting hit.”

Moleti was once a standout high school softball player. Meano said she went to Rutgers on an athletic scholarship before transferring to Montclair State. Recently, she found herself in trouble with police, getting arrested three times in a year and a half.

Edgewater police arrested her in June 2006 on charges of cocaine possession. In December of last year, Cliffside Park police charged her with theft after she was allegedly caught on surveillance video stealing $280 in cash from The Club House Cafe, where she worked as a bartender, Capt. Michael Russo said.

Earlier this year, Nutley police arrested her for making a terroristic threat, a charge that was later downgraded to harassment, said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

All three cases are pending.

“She was no crazy person, no convict,” Meano said. “Just a normal kid who has had some bad turns and was in a cloudy place.”

–Staff writers Heather Haddon, Suzanne Travers and the Associated Press, NorthJersey.com

Passaic N.J. Car accident

Their was a car accident at about 6:20 Pm tonight on the corner of Main Ave and Brook Hatzolah, Police and Fire  all on scene.Air bags had deployed but no major injuries reported.