A New Jersey police officer who crashed a cruiser into multiple businesses early Thursday morning suffered a “medical episode while driving,” authorities said.
The officer, who hasn’t been identified, was rushed to a nearby hospital following the crash that left a trail of destruction in Little Falls, some 20 miles west of Midtown Manhattan.
“One of our members, a Little Falls Police officer, was injured in a crash overnight,” Peter Andreyev, president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, said in a statement Thursday morning.
The officer was driving a black-and-white SUV when the cruiser left the roadway, crashed into a Chevrolet dealership, passed through the parking lot of a tire shop, and came to a stop in the parking lot of a pizzeria, according to NorthJersey.com.
The vehicle also clipped the roof of a Knights of Columbus building, while debris from the crash damaged a residential building, WABC reported.
While the officer was on duty at the time, officials say he was not involved in a police chase or responding to any calls for service at the time of the crash.
“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the officer suffered from a medical episode while driving,” Little Falls Police Chief Bryan M. Prall said in a statement, according to NJ.com.
The officer was being treated at St. Joseph’s University Hospital in Paterson, where he was said to be in stable condition Thursday night.
The incident is still being investigated by the Little Falls Police Department’s Investigation and Services Division.
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