Truck Driver Charged in Fatal Crash With Bergen County Police Officer

The truck driver who struck and killed a Bergen County police officer on the shoulder of Route 17 early Thursday morning has been charged with vehicular homicide, the prosecutor's office said.

Ryon Cumberbatch, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., made no effort to avoid the unmarked cruiser of Waldwick Township Police Officer Christopher Goodell, 32, who was operating radar in his parked vehicle, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.

According to the prosecutor's office, Cumberbatch's 2012 Freightliner 18-wheel tractor trailer struck Goodell's vehicle at 1:23 a.m. Thursday. 

Goodell died from blunt force trauma directly related to serious trauma to the head, the Bergen County Medical Examiner determined Thursday.

There was no evidence of braking before Cumberbatch struck the police car, and it appeared the truck was driven directly "into the police car without stopping or attempting to stop," the prosecutor's office said.

Goodell's vehicle was parked "entirely in the shoulder" and running without its emergency lights on at the time of the crash, the prosecutor's office said.

Cumberbatch has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, with bail set at $25,000 with the option to post 10 percent. His first court appearance is scheduled for July 21 in the Bergen County Central Municipal Court.