New Jersey: Byram cop hurt when patrol car is hit from behind
A Byram police officer was injured early Saturday when his patrol car was struck as he was getting out of the vehicle to check on a pedestrian walking in traffic. Officer Daniel DeWald was taken to Newton Medical Center after the 1 a.m. incident with multiple minor injuries, but was later released after treatment.Also taken to the hospital for treatment were Monica Hidalgo-Beltran and Maria Burzapaiva, who were in the car that struck the officer's vehicle. They were also released following treatment.Stanhope Police Sgt. Charles Zweigle, who headed the investigation of the crash, said DeWald had stopped northbound on Route 206 near the Route 183 split to check on a man who was walking in traffic.As he was getting out of his patrol car, the vehicle was struck by a car driven by Hidalgo-Beltran, throwing the officer onto the shoulder of the road.Zweigle and Byram Patrolman Larry Mendelsohn were the first officers at the scene to answer DeWald's call for help. They were followed shortly by officers from the State Police and Netcong, Roxbury, Mount Olive, Hopatcong and Andover departments.Hidalgo-Beltran, 29, of Byram, was arrested and charged with drunken driving, reckless driving and assault by auto. Burzapaiva, owner of the vehicle, was charged with allowing an intoxicated person to operate her vehicle.The pedestrian, Robert M. Cloughsey, who was injured, was charged with crossing a highway where prohibited.Assisting Zweigle with the investigation and arrests was Stanhope Police Sgt. Ryan Hickman.
Related Links
Links provided with these articles were active and accurate as of the posting of the article to ResponderSafety.com. However, web sites change and the organization hosting the page at the link may have moved or removed it since this article was posted. Therefore, some links may no longer be active.