Cliffside Park, New Jersey Cruiser Crashes on Way to Overdose Call: Arriving Ambulance Then Sideswipes the Wreck in Viral Video
A video from Cliffside Park, a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, has gone viral on social media: at about 5:20 p.m. on Halloween, October 31, an officer driving to a reported drug overdose at a residence on Lawton Avenue lost control and crashed into a divider and a guardrail. The cruiser was damaged but nobody was injured. Moments later, as bystander video rolled, a borough EMS vehicle rounding the corner sideswiped the back of the already damaged cruiser, shattering a taillight. Town spokesperson Bill Maer explained what happened to NorthJersey.com on November 4.
According to Maer, the officer was en route to assist with the overdose call when he lost control of the vehicle. The cruiser sustained damage, but no one was injured in the crash. Other officers then reached the residence and administered Narcan, the opioid-overdose reversal drug, and saved the patient.
The viral footage shows the aftermath: the damaged cruiser sits against a guardrail and a sign, and shortly after the video starts, a Cliffside Park EMS vehicle rounds the corner and appears to sideswipe the rear of the cruiser, seemingly shattering its taillight and scratching both vehicles. The Autopian and other outlets that shared the clip on November 3 described viewers' disbelief at the chain of mishaps unfolding in just over a minute.
The Cliffside Park Police Department later reposted the video on Instagram, joking in its caption: "That's why they call them accidents!!" The department said it was delighted to announce that no one was seriously injured and that the patrol car would soon be back on the town's streets, continuing to keep Cliffside Park safe. Officials have not released the names of the officer or the EMS driver, and have not given a specific cause for the initial loss of control.
Source: Cliffside Park town spokesperson and Police Department
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 警用Ford Police Interceptor Utility资料图（AndyHe829摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经Wikimedia Commons；非事发现场图）
