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.
ID: 17329207 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)
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