Video: New Jersey Officer Struck, Killed by SUV
One Cliffside Park (N.J.) PD special police officer was killed and another injured on foot patrol when they were struck by an SUV this weekend. Officer Stephen Petruzzello died this morning.
One Cliffside Park (N.J.) PD special police officer was killed and another injured when they were struck by an SUV this weekend, reports WABC-TV .
Just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Officer Stephen Petruzzello and his partner Thaier Abdallah were on foot patrol on Walker Street in Cliffside Park. The 22-year-olds had just graduated from the academy last month, and are part of the borough's special police force.
Both Petruzzello and Abdallah were crossing the street when a Honda CRV struck them both, shattering the windshield. Behind the wheel was Anie Kalayjian, a world-renown professor of psychology at Columbia University. She told Eyewitness News by phone that this was an awful accident.
"I'm in shock - we didn't see them. They were wearing black uniforms with no reflective stripes," said Kalayjian.
Both men were rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center. Officer Petruzzello was critically injured and had to go into surgery. He died early Monday morning.
Officer Abdallah was released from the hospital.
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