Tests on off-duty JC cop find alcohol wasn't a factor in Bayonne 7-car crash

[propscene]

I don't think those names in the key "hiding" (hey, let's see how well that silly prankish hiding goes when I say, hide your bike or computer in my house) ever surfaced, did they? And they only lost a couple of personal days over it. Puke.

[shahaggy]

The off-duty Jersey City police officer involved in a fatal crash in Bayonne Sunday was disciplined by the department less than two months ago; and he was recently saluted for his valor as well.

In December, Officer Rick Garrison was one of the officers involved in hiding the car keys of persons attending a fund-raiser for Mayor Jerramiah Healy during a police union protest, sources said.

The keys were snatched from the valet booth and tossed into bushes nearby. After a department hearing, the officers lost personal days as punishment for their actions, according to a Police Department spokesman.

A veteran cop who is first vice president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, Garrison was also among a number of off-duty officers who were sued in connection with an alleged assault on Hudson County Sheriff's Officer Sean McGovern outside a bar near Lincoln Park in November 1997.

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said yesterday the city paid out $175,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Then-County Sheriff Joseph Cassidy told The Jersey Journal at the time that McGovern suffered a broken and bitten nose, a concussion and other injuries during a fight with Garrison outside the bar.

Last year, Garrison was among 16 officers honored at the 200 Club of Hudson County's annual Valor Awards for their roles in the July 16, 2009 shootout with robbery suspects on Reed Street in which Officer Marc DiNardo was fatally shot and four other officers wounded.

On Sunday afternoon, Garrison was behind the wheel of a car that was speeding on Avenue E when it slammed into several parked and moving vehicles over the course of several blocks, officials said.

The seven-car crash claimed the life of Helen Antczak, 82, of Washington Parkway in Bayonne, and sent five others to the hospital, officials said.

Garrison was taken to University Hospital in Newark and he was released yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said. He did not return phone calls to comment.

He has not been charged criminally, administratively or issued any motor vehicle summonses. He has not been suspended by the Jersey City Police Department and he remains off-duty due to his injuries, police officials said yesterday.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday he expects the investigation into the crash to be completed in a few days.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, but the results of a drug screening on Garrison are not yet available, DeFazio said. The prosecutor said his office will also look into Garrison's medical records to see if some illness may have caused the crash.

"Obviously, the (Garrison's) vehicle was traveling well above the speed limit," DeFazio said.

[propscene]

Mentioned before, but while it's still up for now:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Rick-Garrison/749011286

Ironic that he lists his two favorite tv shows as COPS and WRECKED

[CeeDub]

The manufacturer can provide snapshot data from the car's control modules that will show speed, throttle input, brake input, time, date, time since last start, and any existing fault codes and how long they have been present.  It will NOT show any active history, how long the car had been driven at what speed, had the brakes been applied previously; ie. there is no 'flight recorder.' 

Much will depend on the basic nuts and bolts traffic accident reconstruction, which requires careful scene examination and documentation.  The physical evidence is perishable and if they didn't investigate the scene at 40th St and even examine intersections north and south any possible skid marks or debris piles from impacts was gone within hours.  Were the brakes applied at impact?  Check the brake light bulb filaments.  The physical evidence will not lie.

[propscene]

obviously.

[MCA™]

Jersey City cop who was off-duty when he was involved in Sunday's fatal, multi-car crash in Bayonne leaves hospital
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The off-duty Jersey City police officer involved in a fatal crash in Bayonne Sunday was released from University Hospital in Newark yesterday, officials said.

The nature of the injuries suffered by Officer Rick Garrison in the crash that claimed the life of 82-year-old Bayonne resident Helen Antczak was not disclosed.

A veteran cop who is first vice president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, Garrison was behind the wheel of a car that was speeding on Avenue E at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday when it slammed into several parked and moving vehicles over the course of several blocks, according to officials and residents.

The seven-car crash claimed the life of Antczak, of Washington Parkway, and sent five others to the hospital, officials said.

Garrison has not been charged criminally, administratively or issued any motor vehicle summonses. He has not been suspended by the Jersey City Police Department and he remains off-duty due to his injuries, police officials said yesterday.

Garrison did not return phone calls for comment yesterday.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday he expects the investigation into the crash to be completed in a few days.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, but the results of a drug screening on Garrison are not yet available, DeFazio said. The prosecutor said his office will also look into Garrison's medical records to see if some illness may have caused the crash.

"Obviously, the vehicle was traveling well above the speed limit," DeFazio said.

[duke_of_earl]

This asshole should be treated like every other citizen that may have done the same thing. 

Suspend him without pay, send him to court and make put up his house put his house for bond for starters.

Then that would be manslaughter charges and facing 20 years for killing someone.

duke

[porkchopsoda]

This asshole should be treated like every other citizen that may have done the same thing. 

Suspend him without pay, send him to court and make put up his house put his house for bond for starters.

[TMN]

The crash investigation by the Bayonne Police Department is ongoing, DeFazio said, adding that his office and the Jersey City Police Department Internal Affairs Unit are also doing investigations. The prosecutor said no criminal, administrative or motor vehicle charges have been filed in connection with the crash.

Due to the "excessive speeding" that is quoted throughout the article that vehicular homicide charges are in order. Sounds like there was some above-the-law type driving going on.

Exactly RB. If he wanted to 'drive fast' 440 would have been the better choice IMHO.

[RB]

The crash investigation by the Bayonne Police Department is ongoing, DeFazio said, adding that his office and the Jersey City Police Department Internal Affairs Unit are also doing investigations. The prosecutor said no criminal, administrative or motor vehicle charges have been filed in connection with the crash.

Due to the "excessive speeding" that is quoted throughout the article that vehicular homicide charges are in order. Sounds like there was some above-the-law type driving going on.

[MCA™]

Prosecutor says tests on off-duty Jersey City cop find alcohol wasn't a factor in Bayonne seven-car crash that killed 82-year-old woman and sent at least 6 to hospital
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An off-duty Jersey City police officer was speeding Sunday afternoon when his car smashed into several vehicles during a seven-car crash that claimed the life of an 82-year-old Bayonne woman on Avenue E in Bayonne, officials said yesterday.

"There was apparently excessive speed involved" in the crash in which the car driven by the off-duty officer struck a number of parked and moving vehicles over the course of several blocks around 12:30 p.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday.

Several sources identified the police officer as Rick Garrison, a veteran of the department who serves as first vice president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association.

The crash claimed the life of Helen Antczak, of Washington Parkway, after the police officer's car plowed into the rear of the SUV in which Antczak was a passenger and her daughter was behind the wheel, officials said.

According to the autopsy performed at the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark, Antczak died of blunt force trauma to her body, DeFazio said yesterday. She was a homemaker and was predeceased by her husband Casmir in 1996.

After the crash, Garrison was taken to University Hospital in Newark and he was listed in stable condition there yesterday evening, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Bayonne police have not yet released the accident report and a city spokesman said yesterday he had no new information.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, based on tests done on a blood sample taken from the officer, DeFazio said. The blood sample will be screened for drugs - prescription and illicit - but those results will take longer, the prosecutor said.

The crash investigation by the Bayonne Police Department is ongoing, DeFazio said, adding that his office and the Jersey City Police Department Internal Affairs Unit are also doing investigations. The prosecutor said no criminal, administrative or motor vehicle charges have been filed in connection with the crash.

"They're still looking for answers and, once we get those definitive answers, the appropriate measures will be taken," Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said Sunday in a statement, in which he also offered his condolences to the Antczak family.

A young man who identified himself as Antczak's grandson answered the front door at her home yesterday, but he was too grief-stricken to speak about her. He said his parents were out making arrangements for the funeral. A neighbor said Antczak lived on the block for years and was "a lovely person."

At least six people involved in the crash, including Garrison, were initially taken to Bayonne Medical Center, where Antczak was pronounced dead.

Viewings for Antczak will be tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bayonne Memorial Home, on Avenue C. Her funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church, followed by burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, in North Arlington.

Journal staff writer Vishal Persaud contributed to this story.

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