Police called off motorcycle chase before two crashes, authorities say
Salvatore Deangelis (Photo: BCPO)
John Parham, 67, of Hackensack, died after the Thursday afternoon crash with the marked Hackensack patrol unit at Ross and Summit Avenues, according to Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal. A police officer in the cruiser was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.
A second city police officer arrived at the crash and immediately started tending to Parham and the injured patrolman, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Parham, who lived about three blocks from the scene, later died at Hackensack University Medical Center from unspecified injuries.
The Hackensack police car involved in the crash was heading to a separate accident in Maywood, near the city line, according to authorities.
Man, 67, killed in crash with police car
That wreck involved 31-year-old Salvatore Deangelis, who earlier "sped away" from officers in Paramus that afternoon, Grewal added. He crashed his motorcycle with another vehicle at Spring Valley Avenue and Coles Street in Maywood.
Deangelis, of Harriman, New York, was thrown from his bike on impact and suffered lower back injuries, authorities said. He was listed in stable condition at Hackensack University Medical Center and charged with eluding.
The two crashes came after Paramus police briefly chased Deangelis on his motorcycle Thursday afternoon, according to authorities.
Paramus police first tried to stop Deangelis after they saw him speeding and zig-zagging between lanes on a 2016 Yamaha R1 motorcycle, traveling on Route 17 northbound around 2 p.m., Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said Thursday night.
Ehrenberg and the prosecutor said Paramus police called off the chase and broadcast an alert before the wrecks. Witnesses reported the motorcycle was not being chased when it crashed in Maywood, according to the chief.
"After a brief period, this pursuit was terminated on Route 4 in Paramus due to the speed and recklessness exhibited by Deangelis," the prosecutor's statement said.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office said its Fatal Accident Investigations Unit was continuing to probe the deadly wreck involving the patrol. The agency did not release further details, including if the patrol car had its emergency lights and sirens turned on.
Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse told News 12 New Jersey on Thursday that the patrol car's lights and sirens were activated. Parham's sedan, the mayor said, pulled out from a side street and was struck by the police car.
City officials have referred questions to the prosecutor's office.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.