Crime & Safety

Motorist Injured After Hitting Tree, Police Say

Authorities charge several with drunken driving

A one-car crash Wednesday night left a driver injured.

Police responded to the intersection of Wyckoff and Russell avenues at 9:57 p.m. on a report of an accident and said they found Rubby A. Mieses, 18, of Prospect Park injured.

Mieses had been traveling on Wyckoff Avenue in her Ford Taurus when she failed to properly negotiate the turn onto Russell and hit a tree, police said. She and a 17-year-old passenger were hurt, with Mieses sustaining "severe" facial injuries and the passenger left with minor injuries, police said. Both were transported to the hospital by the Wyckoff Volunteer Ambulance Squad.

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Mieses was charged with careless driving.

  • A mother was charged with assaulting her son on Wednesday.

Officers responded to a Mountain Avenue home at 8:47 p.m. that night to investigate a domestic violence incident. The ensuing investigation determined that a 20-year-old Massachusetts man was punched in the face by his 55-year-old mother during an argument, police said. The man suffered a lip injury.

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The mother was charged with assault and released on her own recognizance. She will appear in Municipal Court.

  • A Wyckoff resident was charged with drunken driving after police said she was observed driving erratically.

Sgt. Michael Ragucci was on patrol on Crescent Street at 4 p.m. Tuesday when he said he saw a car driven by Lisa Cannon, 44, leave the roadway, hit a curb and nearly hit two pedestrians. Cannon was pulled over, and Ragucci's investigation revealed that she was under the influence, police said.

Cannon also was charged with reckless driving and failure to keep right. She will appear in Municipal Court on Sept. 30.

  • Three teens were charged with drug possession Tuesday after a traffic stop.

Police initially responded to Fieldstone Terrace on a report that a car was parked with loud music playing at just after 1 a.m. As officers approached, the suspect vehicle began to drive away, police said.

The car was pulled over, and the investigation revealed the presence of marijuana, police said. The driver, Prashant Patel, 18, of North Bergen, and passengers Brandon Rand, 18, of Franklin Lakes, and a 17-year-old Upper Saddle River boy were each charged with possession of marijuana and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.

Patel and Rand were released on their own recognizance and will answer the charges in Municipal Court. The Upper Saddle River teen was released to his mother, and juvenile complaints were filed.

  • A motorist accused of speeding ended up spending the night in jail after a drunken driving charge.

Police said Christopher Ottlinghaus, 43, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was clocked driving 80 mph on Route 208 North at 1:56 a.m. Aug. 21. The responding officer suspected Ottlinghaus was under the influence, and he was asked to submit to a breath test. 

The motorist was subsequently charged with drunken driving, reckless driving, failure to maintain his lane and speeding. He was incarcerated at the Wyckoff jail until Aug. 22, when he could be released. Ottlinghaus will answer the charges in Municipal Court.

  • Items were reported stolen Aug. 20 from two unlocked cars on Sicomac Avenue. 

Police said cash was taken from one car and loose change from another, both of which were parked in a resident's driveway.

  • A Franklin Lakes man was accused of leaving the scene of a drunken crash on Aug. 18.

Police responded to Route 208 North near Cedar Hill Avenue at 2:17 a.m. after residents reported hearing a loud crash. Patrolman Michael DeMaio arrived to find fresh skid marks, damage to a guardrail and vehicle debris, including a New Jersey license plate, police said.

The plate number and officer's subsequent investigation led police to a home in Franklin Lakes, where local police arrived to allegedly find the suspected vehicle and its driver in his driveway. Wyckoff police responded and charged Jozef Empel, 50, with drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving and failure to maintain his lane.

Empel was released to his son following a breath test. He will appear in Municipal Court on Sept. 23.


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