Anthony G. Attrino
NJ Advance Media
JERSEY CITY — A Port Authority police officer is in critical condition Tuesday after he was struck on a Jersey City highway while responding to an earlier crash, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, a 32-year-old New York woman, overturned her vehicle on eastbound Route 139 (depressed highway) and she was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center with minor injuries, the prosecutor’s office said.
While the Port Authority officer and three Jersey City officers were securing the initial crash scene and doing traffic control, another motorist heading eastbound on Route 139 struck the median divider, then struck a JCPD cruiser, and then struck the Port Authority officer, causing serious injuries.
Two Jersey City police officers sustained minor injuries, while the Port Authority police officer was taken to Jersey City Medical Center in critical condition. None of their names were released by the prosecutor’s office.
“We are asking everyone to keep our officer in your thoughts and prayers as he works to pull through this,” said Edward Cetnar, Superintendent of the Port Authority Police Department. “These are serious injuries, but we know he is a fighter.”
The driver in the second crash, a 27-year-old New York woman, was taken to the JCMC for examination, but has since been released, officials said. The driver in the first crash was also released. No charges have been filed.
“This crash is yet another reminder that our first responders put their lives on the line every day,” Suarez said. “We are praying that the officer makes a full and quick recovery.”