BOGOTA MAN DIES IN CAR CRASH

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, March 15, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A06

A 29-year-old Bogota man apparently lost control of his car and crashed into a light pole base just off the George Washington Bridge before dawn Saturday, killing himself and injuring his passenger.

Peter J. LaSala was pronounced dead at the scene by Englewood Hospital paramedics, said Terry Benczik, a Port Authority spokeswoman. John Leahy Jr., also of Bogota, suffered facial cuts and possible internal injuries, she said.

LaSala was the driver and Leahy his passenger as they returned to New Jersey about 4:30 a.m., Benczik said. The car struck the concrete base of a light pole near the Center Avenue overpass as the car traveled westbound on the lower level of the bridge, Benczik said.

Leahy, who was taken to Englewood Hospital, told investigators he had his eyes closed and did not see how the accident occurred, Benczik said. The pavement was dry, there was no construction nearby, and no evident reason for the accident, she said.

LaSala worked in the parts department for Ford-Lincoln-Mercury in New York City.
His funeral is to be Wednesday.

Notes: Bergen page

TWO DIE IN RTE. 80 COLLISION; CAR REAR-ENDS TRUCK ON SLICK HIGHWAY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 20, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B01

A Bronx couple were killed and their two children injured Monday morning when their car spun out of control on rain-soaked Route 80 in Bogota and struck the back of a truck parked on the shoulder, state police said.
Haredin Sokoli, 33, who was driving, and his common-law wife, Farije Xheraj, 32, died at the scene. Neither was wearing a seat belt, state police Sgt. Bob Cooney said.
Lide Sokoli, 11, and her brother, Niam, 10, were in fair condition at Hackensack Medical Center, the girl with a broken leg and the boy with cuts and bruises, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Dr. John LoCurto, director of the hospital’s trauma center, and paramedics Don Holmes and Zach Weissman, as well as numerous Ridgefield Park police, firefighters, and rescue workers, helped remove the children from the back seat, where they were pinned.
Bob Carlson, a senior member of the Ridgefield Park Rescue Squad, said they had to use air bags and hydraulic lifts to raise the truck to allow the paramedics to get to the children.
The accident occurred at 11:35 a.m. in the local lanes of Route 80, about a half-mile from the intersection of Routes 95 and 46, Cooney said.
“There was a truck parked on the right shoulder, eastbound at milepost 67.4 in Bogota, due to a previous accident,” he said. “A 1985 Buick Century was eastbound when the driver lost control for an unknown reason on the wet roadway. It struck the left rear of the parked truck.”
Jeannette Gnecco, 41, of Ridgefield Park, said she saw the traffic jam about noon and noticed the accident ahead. She got off the road an exit before the accident and watched the rescue effort, along with about 30 other people, from the North Street bridge, which overlooks Route 80.
“The had to jack up the truck, pull off the roof of the car to get to the kids,” said James Gnecco, her 46-year-old husband. “You almost couldn’t believe anybody came out of it alive.”
Gail Campbell, 45, of Ridgefield Park also watched the rescue effort with her 12-year-old son, Mark. Her husband, Edward, a 10-year member of the rescue squad, was part of the rescue effort.
“It upsets me,” Campbell said. “Those poor people didn’t know what hit them. . . . Pray for them. That’s all you can do.”

Keywords: BOGOTA; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; DEATH

Caption: 2 COLOR PHOTOS BY DANIELLE P. RICHARDS / THE RECORD 1 – A rescue worker holding a child who was trapped in the back seat of a car involved in a fatal accident on Route 80 in Bogota. 2 – The Bronx couple in the front seat died, and their two children were hospitalized with injuries.

BOGOTA POLICE HUNT MAN WHO FLED; SOUGHT FOR NON-PAYMENT OF FINE IN AUTO DEATH

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, December 27, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 22-year-old man who was convicted of drunken driving in the 1988 death of a 5-year-old boy escaped through a window on Tuesday as his wife prevented police from arresting him for not paying a fine levied as part of his sentence, police said.

Peter Lamanna, who police said was still at large Wednesday, did not pay the $1,645 fine imposed by a Superior Court judge in Bergen County in May. The court referred his case to Teaneck Municipal Court, which issued a warrant last week, said a Bogota police spokesman.

Lamanna answered the door at 389 Linden Ave., where his in-laws live, after police Officer Daniel Maye knocked at the door about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, the spokesman said. Police said Lamanna married a Bogota woman and moved to Florida after his June 19 release from the Bergen County Jail.

When Maye tried to arrest him, Lamanna allegedly ran into the house. Joanne Lamanna, 24, grabbed Maye and prevented him from going after her husband, police said. The Bergen County Police canine unit later searched the area for Lamanna, but was unable to find him.

Mrs. Lamanna was charged with interfering with a police officer and with assault on a police officer. She was released on $450 bail Wednesday.

Lamanna was acquitted May 23 of a death-by-auto charge in the death of Sultan Chaudhri, who was crossing the street with his mother when Lamanna hit them with his Chevrolet Camaro. The mother, Nighat Chaudhri, 32, suffered minor injuries.

Lamanna was sentenced to 30 days in jail on drunken-driving and other charges. His license was revoked for two years, consecutive to a four-year suspension imposed in 1988 by the Division of Motor Vehicles.