HUDSON MAN LEAPS FROM G.W. BRIDGE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, November 24, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

A 65-year-old Union City man left his car running on the George Washington Bridge on Saturday morning, climbed over two railings, and jumped, apparently to his death, Port Authority police said.

Police were withholding the man’s identity because his body had not been found, despite a three-hour search by the U.S. Coast Guard, a New York City Police Department marine unit and helicopter, and Port Authority police officers, said Port Authority police Lt. Gil Sadler.

Eyewitnesses reported that a New Jersey-bound car stopped midspan on the upper level about 8:50 a.m. They reported that the driver got out, climbed two barriers, and jumped into the river, Sadler said.

Port Authority police officers Robert Weckerle and Reggie Bates found a blue 1984 Audi parked near the spot from which eyewitnesses said the man jumped.

Police found several pieces of identification in the car and spoke to the family of the man.

Notes: Bergen page

GWB TRAFFIC ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, September 22, 1991

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

New Jersey-bound drivers who braved the George Washington Bridge on Saturday ran into a 20-minute delay in the morning caused by construction work on the lower level, Port Authority officials said.
Although traffic thinned later in the day, motorists still are advised to consider returning to the state via the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, said Port Authority Police Sgt. Dominik Evangelista.
Construction started at 7 p.m. Friday and will last until 3 p.m. Monday, he said.

Keywords: BRIDGE; CLOSING; ROAD; REPAIR; NEW YORK CITY; NEW JERSEY

CRASH JAMS GWB TRAFFIC FOR 9 HOURS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, June 6, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

A predawn accident on the westbound express lanes of Route 95 leading to the George Washington Bridge created massive traffic delays Wednesday.
The traffic jam was especially acute during the morning rush hour, as it took New Jersey-bound motorists as long as two hours to cross the bridge, said Catherine Bowman, the bridge’s operations supervisor.
The accident, on the upper level express lanes, involved an overturned garbage truck and two cars. It occurred about 2 a.m. near the Port Authority’s George Washington Bridge bus station, said Port Authority spokesman John Hughes. Details were not available.
Hughes said westbound traffic backed up as far as the New England section of the New York Thruway and was rerouted onto local streets and the Henry Hudson Parkway. The westbound lanes were closed for nine hours because of difficulty righting the truck, he said.
Bowman said the bridge’s lower level lanes were closed for construction at the time of the accident and were not opened until 6:30 a.m., adding to the congestion.
A special crane was used to right the truck about 11:30 a.m., and the lanes were reopened about noon, Hughes said. He said the cause of the accident had not been determined late Wednesday. Although the cars suffered extensive damage, no one was injured, he said.

Keywords: BRIDGE; NEW JERSEY; NEW YORK CITY; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT

DRUG DEALER RIVALRY HELPS COPS TIP LEADS TO ARREST OF 2 MEN

Byline: By Michael O. Allen and John Cichowski, Record Staff Writers | Monday, April 29, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

When Harry Kittrell returned from New York City early Saturday allegedly with a stash of cocaine and crack vials a convoy of police were waiting for him and a companion as their car crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
Police said Kittrell is the latest reputed narcotics dealer to be turned in by rivals in a growing pattern of double-crosses that have become common in local drug traffic wars.
“There’s no better way to eliminate your competition than call the cops and `rat them out,” reasoned one narcotics detective.
“It happens all the time,” said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. “One dealer cheats another out of a couple of thousand dollars, so he waits for the day he can turn him in. “
Hackensack police believe the anonymous call they received at 1 a.m. Saturday came from a rival of Kittrell’s. The caller told them the make and model of the car he would be driving, and the time he was expected back from the city with drugs.
About 15 unmarked police cars, including state troopers and Port Authority police, kept the 23-year-old Hackensack man under surveillance after his car entered Fort Lee and drove to Lodi, said Port Authority Police Officer Peter Heller and Hackensack police Capt. John Aletta.
As the car left one jurisdiction and entered another along Routes 80 and 17, various police departments took up the surveillance, said police. They finally pulled Kittrell’s car over in a parking lot off Essex Street in Lodi, said Heller.
Police said Kittrell, of 185 Pine St., Hackensack, and James Johnson, 28, address unknown, had chunks of rock cocaine hidden in a plastic sandwich bag and a supply ofcrack vials. They were charged with drug possession, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kittrell was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail. He had been out on bail from a November arrest for possession of heroin in Hackensack. Johnson was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail.
Police said Johnson, whom police described as Kittrell’s accomplice, declined to respond at first when he was read his rights. But a few moments later, police said, he began spitting rock cocaine out of his mouth.
Law enforcement authorities said it is becoming more common for drug dealers to inform police about their competitors.
“Nobody announces to police that he’s a rival drug dealer, but the type of information you’re getting generally can only come from a few kinds of sources, and one of them is a competitor,” said Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald S. Fava. “Usually, it’s some kind of grievance that prompts the call, like a turf war or a money dispute.”
An urban narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified, said competitors and spurned lovers often are the best sources for drug information.
“Sometimes a competitor will ask the ex-girlfriend about the route, then he’ll call police with the information,” said the narcotics officer. “It’s the least violent way to kill off the competition.”

Keywords: POLICE; DRUG

COLUMN/SECOND LOOK: THE LANDING ON RUNWAY GWB

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, April 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A02

The George Washington Bridge has been the scene of many suicides, accidents, and odd happenings during its 60-year history. But even after a quarter-century, what happened on Dec. 26, 1965, stuns the imagination.
A teenage pilot landed a plane on the center roadway of the bridge maneuvering the light aircraft through the lowest point of the suspension cables at the center of the span. Phillip Ippolito Jr. said afterward that he was “just plain scared” he wasn’t going to make it.
Ippolito, 19, of the Bronx and Joseph Brennan, 39, of Hackensack took off in the two-seat airplane about 9 a.m. from the Ramapo Valley Airport in Spring Valley., N.Y., where Ippolito was an assistant mechanic.
“Joe was just along for the ride to Red Bank, where I planned to visit with a former flying instructor, and at the same time log some flying time,” the young pilot told a reporter a day after the emergency landing.
As he flew over, Ippolito said, everything was just fine, Brennan was enjoying the view, and traffic on the bridge was quite light possibly because it was a Sunday morning, and the day after Christmas.
Then it happened.
“Just as we were at a point parallel to Times Square, I felt the plane begin to lose power,” Ippolito said. “I banked 180 degrees to the right to head north again. At this point I had no definite plan in mind, I was just plain scared. Then I began thinking of ditching in the river, but there were whitecaps on the water and that meant it would be rough landing. “
When he asked Brennan if he could swim, the Navy veteran of World War II said not only could he not, but he was terrified of water. At that point, Ippolito said, there was just one thing to do land the plane on the bridge.
“As I came over the roadway, I did a left-side slip and after 50 feet I went into a forward slip,” Ippolito said. “This brought the plane directly over the unused roadway, but my flying speed was almost double the normal 40 to 45 mile-an-hour landing speed. I kept worrying about the people on the bridge up until the moment I hit the roadway.”
The plane rolled along the roadway and came to a stop. Although its right wing tip struck a truck and the plane was spun around, Ippolito and Brennan suffered only minor injuries.
Bridge manager Ken Philmus said the current flow of traffic, and the increased volume of traffic, would make it difficult for such a landing to take place today.
Brennan died at age 60 in February 1987. Ippolito’s whereabouts are unknown. Bridge employees who came to the aid of the plane have long since retired or moved on to other careers,
Even Ramapo Valley Airport, where the fateful flight began, is no more, having been turned into an office park.

Keywords: FORT LEE; BRIDGE; AVIATION; ACCIDENT; HISTORY

Caption: 1965 PHOTO – Police preparing to remove the downed aircraft from the bridge.

POLICE CHECK NABS 28, SNARLS GWB TRAFFIC

By Michael O. Allen and Corky Siemaszko, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, October 28, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A police checkpoint on the George Washington Bridge netted 28 arrests for drunken driving and other charges, but was called off less than two hours after it started because of severe traffic backups.

Westbound traffic on the bridge’s lower level was merged into two lanes at 8 p.m. Friday while a contingent of officers peered into passing cars looking for signs of intoxicated drivers. The checkpoint one of several mounted this year was ended around 10 p.m.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy called the roadblock the first at the bridge in two years a success and said his office will set up checkpoints on the bridge on a regular basis.

Twenty-eight people three from Bergen County were arrested on a variety of charges, including driving while under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants, possession of controlled dangerous substances, and possession of drugs with the intent to distribute.

Bail amounts ranging from $250 for a 27-year-old East Orange man charged with driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia to $25,000 for a Paterson man arrested on charges of possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia were set at the scene by Fort Lee Municipal Judge John R. DeSheplo.

Most of the defendants were released on their own recognizance.

The checkpoint was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, Port Authority Police, Bergen County Police, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. Police pulled over one of every 20 cars, but suspended the checks several times to let traffic through, Fahy said.

“The rule that we put in place was that if traffic backed up more than one mile that’s approximately 10 minutes we were going to let all the cars through,” Fahy said.

The roadblock was terminated when officials noted that traffic had not returned to normal after one of the suspensions.

Lt. Michael Koretzky, a Port Authority Police tour commander, said an accident two miles away, but unrelated to the roadblock, added to the backup.

“The last time we did a roadblock on the bridge, we were criticized because of long traffic delays,” Fahy said. “We were determined that that would never happen again.”

He said there had not been a roadblock in the past two years because of bridge construction.

CRASHES KILL MAN, JAM ROAD TO GWB

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, October 18, 1990

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

A Teaneck man was killed and four others were injured Wednesday morning in a spate of accidents that snarled rush-hour traffic along Routes 4 and 95.

“It was a mess,” said Sgt. Scott Storms of the Bergen County Police Departmnent. “We had multiple accidents on two of the main arteries going up to the George Washington Bridge. “

Authorities said Route 4 east was not completely reopened for about two hours after a 6:30 a.m. accident near Grand Avenue in Englewood in which a motorcyclist identified as Charles A. Getler died.

Shortly after the eastbound lanes were reopened, three accidents occurred within 15 minutes in westbound lanes, injuring one person.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Getler was eastbound on Route 4 when he apparently lost control of his motorcycle. It slid along the road about 30 feet and ended up wedged under a disabled car, Fahy said. Getler was declared dead at the scene.

The Route 95 accident, at about 7:30 a.m., sent 50-year-old Victor M. Rivera of Perth Amboy to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck with a neck injury and cuts on his forehead. He was listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday.

New Jersey State Police Trooper Antonio Nunez said Rivera was northbound in a local lane of I-95 when his pickup truck was struck from the rear by a van driven by Hyun K. Shin, 42, of Elizabeth.

The pickup truck spun around into the center lane, facing oncoming traffic, and was struck head-on by a car driven by Anthony Pepe, 33, of Staten Island. Shin and a passenger in his van were treated at Holy Name Hospital and released. Pepe was uninjured.

Nunez said it took about three hours to reopen I-95 completely.

“Rubberneckers, that’s what delayed traffic more than anything else,” he said. “Plus, we had the emergency vehicles. “

About 20 minutes after Route 4 east was cleared of the motorcycle accident, at about 8:50 a.m., four westbound cars on the highway collided near Wilson Avenue in Teaneck. An unidentified motorist was sent to the Holy Name Hospital for treatment.

Two cars collided near the Route 4 intersection with River Road in Teaneck eight minutes later. Then, at 9:05, two cars collided on Route 4 in Hackensack, a short distance from the two accidents in Teaneck. There were no injuries reported in the last two accidents.