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

TERROR, A CRASH, A CHASE, AND ARRESTS 3 TOWNS, 20 CARS, 100 MPH

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 15, 1991

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

Two men were captured Tuesday after breaking into an Oradell home, tying up and robbing two women, and leading police on a chase involving about 20 patrol cars through three towns, police said.
Robert J. Davis, 37, of Little Ferry and Gary M. Pereira, 29, of Hackensack had entered a Soldier Hill Road home sometime before 10:30 a.m., tied up the residents, and stole their jewelry, Oradell Detective Sgt. Scott Bonsper said.
The victims, whom Bonsper declined to identify, were not injured. One of them removed the tape the suspects had used to cover her mouth, and then she called police.
Bonsper said he went to the house with other Oradell police officers and interviewed the victims. “I came out of the house to go to my car, and I was flagged down by a witness to an accident that had just happened a block away from the house,” he said.
The descriptions of the people in the car matched the suspects described by the victims, Bonsper said. They apparently had parked in a parking lot at an office building on Kinderkamack Road; when they tried to make a hasty escape, their car collided with another northbound car.
Bonsper said he then radioed area police departments. A Rochelle Park officer saw the car traveling south on Route 17, and a chase began, he said.
“The speed at which the men were traveling, they could not be allowed back on a main thoroughfare,” said Bonsper, who added that the cars drove as fast as 100 mph during the chase. The suspects were going through stop signs and red lights without stopping, he said.
By the time the chase ended at a police roadblock on Pascack Road, at the Paramus-Washington Township line, police from the two communities and from Oradell, Emerson, Rochelle Park, and Westwood had become involved.
Jewelry from the home was found in the car, Bonsper said.
Davis and Pereira were each charged with kidnapping, robbery, theft, and burglary, and their case will be referred to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Bonsper said. Paramus police are expected to charge Davis and Pereira with resisting arrest, he added. They were being held in the Bergen County Jail on $100,000 bail each.

Keywords: ORADELL; ROBBERY; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; VIOLATION

Caption: 2 COLOR PHOTOS – JOHN DECKER / THE RECORD – Police handcuffing the two suspects in a robbery in Oradell that led to a high-speed car chase through three towns Tuesday.

BOSTON ACCIDENT KILLS N.J. STUDENT; CELTICS PLAYER IS ARRESTED

By Michael O. Allen and Chrisena A. Coleman, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, March 23, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A01

A 20-year-old Ridgewood woman and a college classmate, on their way to buy refreshments during a study break, were struck and killed in Boston early Friday by a van driven by a Boston Celtics player who had been drinking, police said.
Michelle Dartley of 118 Madison Place, Ridgewood, a Boston University sophomore, and An Trinh, 21, of Placentia, Calif., were pronounced dead on arrival at Beth Israel Hospital shortly after the accident on Commonwealth Avenue at about 1:45 a.m., authorities said.
Celtics reserve guard Charles Smith, 23, was arrested near the entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike, about a mile from where the women were hit, police said. Smith pleaded not guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of an accident. He was released on $100,000 personal recognizance bail.
Albert E. Dartley said he was told that his daughter and her friend had taken a break from studying and were on their way to buy soft drinks at a convenience store when the accident occurred.
“It’s just not real. It is hard for me to accept,” Dartley said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I went to visit her last weekend. Thank God I didn’t cancel that trip.
“She had truly excellent values, just a very decent person, very fair-minded. “
Teachers and school officials at Ridgewood High School, where Michelle graduated in 1989, said her strength was in writing and she wrote for the school newspaper and a school literary magazine. She was a reporter for Boston University’s newspaper, The Daily Free Press.
“She had a really good sense for literature, a very good critical sense,” said Ridgewood English teacher Larry Coyle.
Police said a breath test showed Smith had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06 percent. A reading of 0.10 means a person is legally drunk in Massachusetts.

Keywords: ACCIDENT; RIDGEWOOD; DEATH; VICTIM; MOTOR VEHICLE; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; BASKETBALL; PROFESSIONAL; MASSACHUSETT

Caption: PHOTO – MICHELLE DARTLEY

HAWORTH MAN, TWO RELATIVES DROWN IN FLA.; HIS CAR PLUNGED INTO ROADSIDE CANAL

By Michael O. Allen and John Mooney, Record Staff Writers | Thursday, January 27, 1991

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

A 71-year-old Haworth man, his daughter, and his grandson drowned after their car veered off a Florida highway, tore through a fence, and plunged into a 35-foot-deep canal, police said.
Emanuel “Manny” Morgan of 854 Sunset Ave., Haworth; his 37-year-old daughter, Arlene Kepp of Naples, Fla.; and his 4-year-old grandson, Steven Kepp, were buried in Naples Wednesday, said a spokeswoman for the funeral home that handled the arrangements.
Autopsies by the Collier County Medical Examiner’s office revealed that all three drowned in the Monday accident, said a spokeswoman for the office.
Morgan owned Martin Furniture store in West New York for 42 years and was known for his charitable work there and in other communities. He was a Navy veteran of World War II.
His son Stewart Morgan said Friday that Morgan had donated lots of time and money to local synagogues.
“He did a lot of charity work that he never told anyone about,” said Morgan, who with his brother Neil also works at the furniture store.
“For 15 years on every single Christmas, my father gave out gifts to senior citizens in West New York. He just didn’t want anyone to be forgotten. “
The incident occurred while the elder Morgan was traveling from Miami Beach to Naples with his 63-year-old wife, Jeanette, and his daughter and grandson, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Morgans had recently purchased a condominium in Miami Beach.
Jeanette Morgan was driving the 1989 Ford station wagon about 3:30 p.m. Monday and was westbound on Alligator Alley, or State Road 93, when the car veered onto the shoulder, a police spokeswoman said.
Police said Morgan panicked and grabbed the steering wheel, causing his wife to lose control of the car. The vehicle went through a 12-foot-high fence separating the road from the canal, plunging into the recently deepened waters.
Jeanette Morgan, who swam to safety, was treated at Naples Community Hospital for minor injuries and was released Tuesday, said hospital spokeswoman Debbie Curry.

Keywords: HAWORTH; FLORIDA; DEATH; VICTIM; ACCIDENT; MOTOR VEHICLE; RIVER

TRAFFIC HITS THE SKIDS ON ICY ROADS; FREEZING RAIN BLAMED FOR SPATE OF ACCIDENTS

By Ruth Padawer and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Thursday, January 10, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page B01

Daylong freezing rain caused dozens of traffic accidents throughout North Jersey on Wednesday, sending cars into guardrails, utility poles, and creeks.
Meteorologists predicted that today would bring some relief.
Sunny weather was expected, with highs reaching the low 40s, but those higher temperatures may cause flooding as Wednesday’s slush melts, said Walter Zamorski of the National Weather Service at Newark International Airport.
In other words, it should be another good day for towing companies.
“A lot of cars are going off the road,” Dave Schick, a driver for Texas Towing in Paramus, said Wednesday. “They have to be winched off the guardrails, hauled out of the woods or off the shoulders and grass medians. When you have slippery weather like this, that’s basically what you get. “
By midday, Schick said, his company had towed 10 cars along the northern end of the Garden State Parkway and replaced blown tires on another seven tires that popped after cars slid into curbs.
The bad driving conditions prompted the Bergen County District for Special Education, which has schools throughout the county, to cancel classes Wednesday, but the Bergen County superintendent of schools, Ray Kelly, said his office knew of no other cancellations or late openings. In Passaic County, Wayne opened its schools late.
Most of the traffic accidents in North Jersey were minor, but in Montville, a 23-year-old Kinnelon man was critically injured when his car slid sideways into an oncoming United Parcel Service truck.
Rescue workers used the Jaws of Life to pry an unconscious Anthony B. Gazzillo out of his black 1984 Chrysler, which was wrecked in the 9 a.m. accident on Boonton Avenue, said Officer Joseph Pitek.
Officials at St. Clares-Riverside Medical Center in Denville listed Gazzillo in critical condition late Wednesday with injuries to his face, neck, and internal organs. The UPS driver, Brian S. Rieger, 32, of Florham Park, was treated and released.
At about 7 a.m., an NJ Transit bus on its way to Westwood from Manhattan slid on Main Street in Ridgefield Park and struck two utility poles, uprooting one of them at Main and Brewster streets. The 15 passengers and the driver all escaped injury, said Jeff Lamb, an NJT spokesman. Another bus picked up the passengers.
An hour and a half later, Francesca Delgado, 37, of Fairview lost control of her car when it slid off Route 46 east in Ridgefield Park. After smashing into a truck driven by Michael Kosenko, 56, of Clifton, Delgado’s car flew over a concrete divider and landed in Overpeck Creek.
Delgado was taken to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, where she was treated and released.
The state Department of Transportation arrived at the scene to spread salt and sand, clearing the road by 10:30 a.m. and alleviating minor traffic delays.
In Ridgefield, police weren’t sure whether to blame the weather or engine trouble for the explosion of a DOT snowplow truck, which burst into flames while spreading sand on southbound Route 5. Driver Ella Brown, 35, of Jersey City jumped clear of the truck after she saw fire coming from under the hood and couldn’t get the vehicle to stop, said Ridgefield police Sgt. William Kelly.
The truck careened into the Peek Realty building at 835 Route 5, burning shingles on the outside of the building.
Wayne, which is crisscrossed by major thoroughfares such as Routes 80, 23, and 46, reported an unusually low tally of just five minor accidents by late afternoon.
“We were out there ready for the worst, but fortunately it turned out pretty good,” said police Capt. Walter Suhaka. “One thing that helped us was that public schools and most Catholic schools had delayed openings. That kept traffic off the roadways at rush hour. “
Scattered accidents were reported in other Passaic County communities, including 18 fender benders in Clifton from 5:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Record Staff Writer David Gibson contributed to this article.

Keywords: WEATHER; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT

Caption: 1 – COLOR PHOTO – STEVE HOCKSTEIN / THE RECORD – Clifton police checking an accident Wednesday on the Ackerman Avenue bridge. The bridge was closed because of severe icing. 2 – PHOTO – STEVE HOCKSTEIN / THE RECORD – A Paterson man using a box to shield himself from icy rain while shoveling snow on Wednesday.

ENGLEWOOD MAN HELD IN DRIVING DEATH

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 9, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page B05

A 32-year-old Englewood man is to be arraigned today on charges of driving the car that fatally injured a Hackensack man shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve, officials said.
Jose Jaramillo of Howland Avenue was arrested in Teaneck about 10:30 p.m. Monday and charged with causing death by auto, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident, said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy.
Jaramillo, who was in the Bergen County Jail Tuesday on $25,000 bail, was arrested in connection with the Dec. 31 hit-and-run death of Jarvis Stephenson, 39, of 194 Krone Place.
On the night of his death, Stephenson was working at American Legion Post 58 in Englewood, where he was a member. At about 11:40 p.m., he told friends at the club he was going home to check on his ill wife and that he would be back.
The victim was struck as he crossed Forest Avenue in front of the club. Stephenson died less than two hours later in Englewood Hospital.
Fahy commended the Englewood Police Department for its work in tracking down Jaramillo. But neither Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsely, commander of the city detective bureau, nor Lt. Charles Dillon, head of the traffic bureau, would reveal any information about the investigation.
The fatal-accident unit of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office had been investigating the accident with the Englewood police and on Monday released a description of the car they said killed Stephenson: a 1977 silver-gray Caprice Classic.
Before the arrest, Englewood police told Teaneck police that they had seen the car at a Chestnut Street address in Teaneck and had prepared a search warrant for the vehicle, said Teaneck Capt. Gary S. Fiedler.
If convicted on the charges, Jaramillo faces up to five years in prison and fines totaling $9,000, Fahy said.
Staff Writer David Voreacos contributed to this report.

Keywords: ENGLEWOOD; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; DEATH

HIT-RUN VICTIM WAS TO SEE TO ILL WIFE; `FAMILY MAN SAID HE’D REJOIN FRIENDS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, January 3, 1991

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

Minutes before the new year was ushered in, Jarvis Stephenson told friends at the American Legion post that he was going home to check on his ill wife and that he would be back an hour later.
Stephenson, 39, would do neither.
A hit-and-run driver struck and fatally injured him as he crossed Forest Avenue outside the post, police said. He was pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Lt. Charles Dillon, commander of the Englewood Police Traffic Bureau, said Wednesday that the search for the driver of the car was continuing but declined to say whether investigators had a suspect in mind or a make on the car.
In another incident in which a car hit a pedestrian, Eric Foreman, 17, of Millen, Ga., was more fortunate. Foreman’s legs were fractured when he was struck by a northbound car as he attempted to cross Route 17 in Ramsey on Tuesday, police said.
He was in stable condition at University Hospital in Newark on Wednesday, a hospital spokesman said.
The motorist, Daniel E. Melehan, 53, of Baldwin Road, Saddle River, was not charged, police said.
Janice Rochester, a bartender at American Legion Post 58 in Englewood, said she had known Stephenson, an NJ Transit bus driver, for about 17 years. Stephenson had been helping her wash cocktail glasses and serve drinks, but was not drinking, Rochester said.
“Jarvis was in very good spirits; he was as happy as he could be,” Rochester said. “He talked about his daughter a lot. That was his heart. That was his love. He was very much a family man. His wife and his daughter were very special to him.”
Rochester, 43, of Hackensack, said Stephenson told her that his wife, Josie, was ill and that he was going to check on her.

Keywords: ENGLEWOOD; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; VICTIM; DEATH

TWO BOYS BADLY HURT IN RTE. 80 CAR CRASH

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, December 23, 1990

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

Two Fairview boys were seriously injured Saturday when the car they were riding in overturned after it was struck by another car, whose driver was charged with drunken driving by police.

A spokeswoman for Hackensack Medical Center said David Gandelman, 7, was in critical condition with head injuries, and his brother, Alan, 9, was in serious condition with unspecified injuries.

Their father, Vladimir Gandelman, 39, the driver of the car, and Zima Spevak, 52, their grandmother, were treated and released, the spokeswoman said.

Frank Farron, 32, of East Rutherford, the driver of the other car, was given a summons for driving while under the influence of alcohol, said state police Sgt. Robert Martin. Farron was not injured, Martin said.

The crash occurred about 6:45 a.m. on Interstate 80, near Exit 66 in Hackensack.

Both cars were eastbound when Farron, in the center lane, collided with Gandelman’s car as he tried to move into the right lane, Martin said.

POLICE SEEK CLUES IN MAYWOOD MAN’S HIT-AND-RUN DEATH

By Kevin Kenney and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Friday, December 21, 1990

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

Police turned to the public Thursday for clues in the hit-and-run death of a popular 50-year-old stock clerk whom they described as mildly retarded and epileptic.

“We’re really kind of desperate,” said Officer Joseph Sacco, a department spokesman. “We have nothing. That’s the problem. “

Sacco’s plea came after the death of Spencer Joseph of 151 Parkway, who was struck about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as he crossed West Spring Valley Road near Edel Avenue.

The vehicle that struck him sped away, and police later responded to a report of a man lying in the road.

Joseph whose mother, Elizabeth, was killed in a 1972 house fire was walking from his house to the Forum Diner on Route 4 in nearby Paramus when the incident occurred, police said.

He was rushed to Hackensack Medical Center with extensive injuries to the lower part of his body, but was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m. Thursday following surgery, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office reported.

“It happened at a busy commuter time, and we’re hoping somebody may have seen something,” said Sacco, adding that police were posting fliers around the accident scene to alert people to their investigation.

“Somebody had to see something. We’re hoping the person who did it, maybe they can come forward. Maybe they panicked.”

Joseph, a stock clerk at the IGA supermarket on West Pleasant Avenue, was described by his employer, Harry Tzimoulis, as a friendly, popular fixture at the store. “His father called me this morning,” Tzimoulis said. “Everybody is shocked in the store. We feel something missing.”

Tzimoulis said he could not recall how long Joseph had worked at the store, but that it was “a lot of years. ” Tzimoulis bought the store about a year ago.

“He was a fellow that everybody knew,” Tzimoulis said. “All the customers knew him by his first name. He helped everybody.”

Lt. Richard Price, who described Joseph as “mildly retarded,” said Joseph was also hit by a car in Hackensack about four years ago while riding his bike. Joseph suffered a fractured leg, said Price.

Price also said Joseph was taking medication for his epilepsy, but it was not known if that might have played a role in the accident.

Police urged anyone with information about the accident to call the borough Police Department at 845-8800 or the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit at 646-3531.

MAN CRASHES CAR IN POLICE CHASE; CAUGHT IN KEARNY; JUVENILE ALSO HELD

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 7, 1990

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

A 19-year-old East Orange man and an unidentified juvenile were arrested Thursday after they crashed a stolen car, following a chase that began in the Lincoln Tunnel and ended in Kearny, police said.

Kasin Andre Williams, of 32 South Munn Ave., and the juvenile were charged with driving under the influence of an intoxicant, reckless endangerment, and eluding police, Port Authority Officer Rich Lofstrom said.

Williams also faces a charge of possession of stolen property, pending location of the owner of the car, which was stolen Wednesday in East Orange, police said.

The juvenile also was charged with possession and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and was to be sent to the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center in Secaucus, Lofstrom said. Williams was to be held in the Hudson County Jail in Jersey City on Thursday.

Lofstrom said he and Officer Raymond O’Brien began the chase when they spotted Wiliams weaving across lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel about 1 p.m. When Williams refused to pull over, they pursued him onto the New Jersey Turnpike.

A state police officer joined the chase, and alerted Kearny police when Williams got off the turnpike at Harrison Avenue. The chase ended when Williams crashed into a fence on Passaic Avenue, Lofstrom said.

Lofstrom said Williams told police he did not stop because he did not have a driver’s license and the car was stolen.

Caption: (Not in Three Star Passaic) PHOTO – WARREN GOLDBERG / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD – Kearny police examining the car driven by an East Orange man who told them he stole the vehicle.