This section is based on facts neighborhood police departments provide to Pascack Press. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information shall be read in “press time” context.
RIVER VALE, N.J.—A Hillsdale teen arrested with two others for underage drinking crashed a car into a telephone pole about 30 minutes after he was released from custody, March 23 at 9 a.m., River Vale Police told Pascack Press.
Three Were Passed Out In Car
An off-duty River Vale police officer was traveling on Rivervale Road on March 23 at approximately 6:45 a.m. when he observed an idling vehicle parked in the lane of traffic on Rivervale Road near Piermont Avenue. The officer notified on-duty patrol officers, who responded to the location.
When officers located the vehicle, the driver and two passengers were seen unconscious in the vehicle. Additional officers responded to the scene. Verbal commands from outside the vehicle failed to awaken the occupants.
An officer opened the vehicle door and immediately detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle. After several attempts, the occupants were awakened.
The driver, 19, from Westwood, was asked to exit the vehicle and perform standardized field sobriety tests. He failed to complete the tests satisfactorily and was placed under arrest for DWI and transported to police headquarters.
The passengers, both 19, from Westwood and Hillsdale, were transported to headquarters and subsequently charged with a River Vale ordinance for underage possession/consumption of alcohol answerable in the River Vale Municipal Court.
They were released from police headquarters to a responsible party.
The driver failed to submit to a chemical breath test as required by law. He was issued motor vehicle summonses for DWI, DWI under 21, refusal to consent to taking of breath samples, refusal to submit to chemical testing, reckless driving, careless driving, and prohibited parking.
He also was issued a criminal complaint for underage possession/consumption of alcohol. He was advised of a mandatory appearance in the River Vale Municipal Court on April 2 and released after securing transportation.
Hillsdale Teen, Released After DWI Call, Crashes Car
Officers responded to a reported single motor vehicle crash into a utility pole at the intersection of Cedar Lane and Hillsdale Avenue March 23 at approximately 9 a.m.
Upon arrival, an officer immediately identified the driver as the 19-year-old from Hillsdale who had been released from police headquarters to a responsible party approximately 30 minutes prior.
A witness stated that the vehicle was traveling eastbound on Hillsdale Avenue, failed to stop at the stop sign at Cedar Lane, crossed Cedar Lane, and crashed head-on into the utility pole.
The driver was advised that he was under arrest for DWI and transported to Hackensack University Medical Center at Pascack Valley under police guard to be treated for injuries sustained in the crash.
He was issued summonses for DWI, DWI under 21, failure to change address, failure to produce insurance card, reckless driving, careless driving and a summons was issued by the Hillsdale Police Department for failure to stop.
He also was issued a criminal complaint for underage possession/consumption of alcohol.
The River Vale summonses and criminal complaint are answerable in the River Vale Municipal Court on April 2.