WARWICK – An accident between a tractor-trailer and a Town of Warwick Police Department marked patrol vehicle on Tuesday night has sent a Warwick police officer to the hospital in critical condition. The accident occurred around 10:00 p.m. at the intersection of Route 94 and Warwick Turnpike. The tractor-trailer driver was also seriously injured in the wreck that kept Route 94 closed for several hours into Wednesday morning.
Warwick Police Chief John Rader says that one of his officers was traveling south on Route 94 when her vehicle was broadsided by a tractor-trailer coming from Warwick Turnpike. The collision forced both vehicles into the parking lot of the Pin Street Bowling Alley on the other side of the intersection. The tractor-trailer tipped onto its side during the collision, knocking down a utility pole in the process. The intersection is approximately two miles from the border between New York and New Jersey.
When first responders arrived on the scene they found the officer unconscious and heavily entrapped in her SUV. According to Chief Rader, firefighters and rescue personnel spent 45 minutes removing the entire roof section of the police SUV in order to extricate the badly injured officer.
During the extrication process, the officer regained consciousness. Upon removal from the wreckage, she was immediately airlifted to Westchester Medical Center in “critical but stable condition,” said Chief Rader, while adding that the thoughts and prayers of the department are with the injured officer and her family.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was transported by ambulance to Garnet Health Medical Center in serious condition.
The accident investigation is being conducted by the New York State Police.
Photos and video footage of the accident scene provided by Mark Lieb – Rockland Video Production.
