New Jersey Police: Wrong Way Crash Injures Two Police Officers, Kills Another And His Friend
New Jersey police involved in a wrong way crash in Staten Island, New York, may have been at fault after drinking and driving. According to The Morning Call, three officers and a friend had supposedly been drinking before the accident, as evidenced by a photo on Instagram.
After leaving a strip club, the four men were in a car that drove the wrong way on a service road just before 5 a.m. This was seen on the surveillance footage of a nearby gas station. The car carrying the four friends collided with a tractor trailer truck. The photos below show the aftermath, proving that anyone who walked away from this was lucky.
“Pedro Abad, 27, who was driving the car, and Patrik Kudlac, 23, were hospitalized on Staten Island. Both men are officers with the Linden police department. Another Linden officer, 28-year-old Frank Viggiano, and the officers’ friend Joe Rodriguez, also 28, were killed in the crash. The truck driver suffered injuries that are not considered life-threatening.”
The New Jersey police involved in the wrong way crash are part of the investigation. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, it’s unknown if Abad was drunk, or if his blood alcohol level was beyond the legal limit, but authorities were working on obtaining a warrant to test him. If he was drunk driving, criminal charges will likely be filed.
Police: off-duty cops involved in deadly wrong-way highway crash drinking in strip club: http://t.co/5YLFlWnssx pic.twitter.com/E9Yz9TmFwP
— WTOP (@WTOP) March 21, 2015
2 officers remain ‘critical’ following fatal wrong-way crash: http://t.co/3gL68oSC2s pic.twitter.com/c9Vw14sFVr
— AOL.com (@AOL) March 21, 2015
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the three officers had only been on the force for a few years, but were all very well liked. The Linden police chief expressed his condolences to the Viggiano family, and said that this case is still under investigation. He also encouraged people not to jump to any conclusions until there is concrete evidence to go on.
“We were all young once and I’m sure we’ve all done stupid things in our life. But, that being said, because this is an ongoing investigation, it would be way too premature to speculate on what caused this accident,” said Linden police chief James Schulhafer. “At this point, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Officer Frank Viggiano. This is an unspeakable tragedy,” he added.
Pictures of the New Jersey police officers involved in the wrong way crash, and their friend who was killed can be seen here.
[Photo courtesy of Twitter]
