2-Car Crash Downs Utility Pole in Bergen County, Responding Officer Hospitalized

NEW MILFORD, NJ — An early-morning car crash in New Milford downed a pole and sent two women to the hospital, police said.

A police officer responding to the crash ended up hitting a pickup truck and crashing into two cars parked in a driveway, said Police Chief Brian Clancy.

The chain of events began around 6 a.m. on Friday when two cars crashed on Madison Avenue.

In that incident, a driver hit a car with two women in it. Both women were treated at Hackensack Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries and released, Clancy said.

The other driver was uninjured, and may be charged or summonsed depending on the outcome of the investigation, police said.

The crash downed a pole, spreading wires across the road. PSE&G responded to fix the pole, and the stretch of road was closed for about four hours. It reopened around 10 a.m.

Minutes after the crash, a New Milford officer responded with his lights and sirens on. He crashed into a moving vehicle near the intersection of Boulevard and Madison Avenue, Clancy said.

The patrol car then veered onto a lawn and hit two cars that were parked in a driveway, Clancy said.

The officer was treated at Holy Name Hospital for non-life threatening injuries and was released, Clancy said. The other driver received a summons for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Officers from nearby Dumont assisted New Milford police with the first crash, Clancy said.

Captain Nicholas Digenio said both incidents are still under investigation.