YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A Lodi math teacher and athletic coach was drunk when his car rammed into a Bergen County Police Department SUV on Route 46 in Lodi last night, critically injuring Officer Daniel Breslin, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said this morning.
Breslin sustained a “significant head injury” and was brought to surgery with a skull fracture and bleeding after a CAT scan was done following the 1:50 a.m. crash, Molinelli said. He also reportedly suffered broken ribs.
“He underwent surgery this morning and is in critical condition,” the prosecutor said.
Ettz
Breslin had stopped his SUV to block traffic from hitting another county police car stopped on the right shoulder in front of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car because fellow Officer Frank Canaje was having radio problems, Molinelli said.
Breslin parked his vehicle parallel to Canaje’s and was talking with him when the SUV was rammed from behind by a black, four-door 2012 Ford Fusion, he said.
He identified the driver as 36-year-old Michael Ettz of Long Valley Road.
“After the impact, Officer Canaje radioed his headquarters of the crash and removed Ettz from his vehicle,” the prosecutor said. “Ettz was brought to an area off the roadway where he then fled on foot north behind the businesses and into a nearby neighborhood.
“He was apprehended in the backyard of 6 Christopher Court by Sgt. Michael LaRosa of the Lodi Police Department,” Molinelli said.
Both Breslin and Ettz were taken to HUMC via ambulance.
Ettz, who sustained minor injuries, remained hospitalized in the custody of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lodi PD.
Once he is released, he will be brought to Lodi police headquarters to be charged criminal with DWI and other offenses and issued summonses, Molinelli said.