By Michael O. Allen and Gregory Beals, Record Staff Writers | Wednesday, March 18, 1992
The Record (New Jersey) | 4 Star | NEWS | B03
Two Hawthorne teenagers remained hospitalized from injuries in what police say was a weather-related, head-on collision in the village last week.
Edward Mullins III, 17, the driver of one of the cars, was in fair condition at Hackensack Medical Center on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
His passenger and classmate at Hawthorne High School, Corinne Dockray, 14, was in stable condition in the surgical intensive care unit with head injuries at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, a spokesman said. A helicopter took Dockray to the hospital after the accident on March 11, police said.
Two of Mullins other passengers, and the driver of the other car and her passenger, suffered minor injuries. Treated at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and released were Patrick Murphy, 17, and Allison Taylor, 14, both of whom were riding in Mullins car; Judith M. De Boer, 42, the driver of the other car; and Kirk De Boer, whose age and relationship to Judith De Boer were unavailable.
Murphy and Mullins have been friends since the age of 7, when they began playing football together, said Theresa Murphy, mother of Patrick Murphy. Both are members of the Hawthorne High School football team. Mullins is a halfback, Murphy an outside linebacker.
Murphy suffered a few abrasions to the face and required a few stiches, his mother said, adding that he was in shock after the accident and was deeply concerned about Mullins.
“It was very upsetting,” said Theresa Murphy, a 17-year Hawthorne resident. “He didn’t go to school for two days. He’s been at his buddy’s all the time.”
Mullins father, Edward Mullins, said: “My family, my friends, and my faith have kept me going. We are very, very positive right now.”
Students at Hawthorne High School have been kept advised of the condition of their injured classmates. One student said announcements have been made over the public address system.
Mullins had been traveling eastbound on Godwin Avenue about 6:45 p.m. last Wednesday when his car moved into the path of oncoming traffic and struck De Boer’s car at a bend in the road, according to the police report.
Ridgewood Police Capt. Louis Mader on Tuesday attributed the accident to the weather, saying it had snowed and there was a patch of ice in the roadway where the accident occurred.
Richard Sperito, the assistant superintendent of schools in Hawthorne, said: “Unfortunately, I think a lot of times when this happens we say, `Oh, they were speeding, or `Oh, they were drinking. But that was not the case here. It could have happened to you or me.”
Correction: Allison Taylor, one of the six Hawthorne residents injured last week in an accident in Ridgewood, remained in the hospital Friday and was in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. A story in Wednesday’s editions said she had been released from the hospital. Also, the name of one of the injured was misspelled. She is Corin Dockray. (PUBLISHED, SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1992, PAGE a02.)
ID: 17371731 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)