New Milford Scooter Crash Leaves 12-Year-Old Critical, County Investigators Called In

A 12-year-old scooter rider was left critically injured and a second child suffered a minor injury after a Toyota struck them on Reichelt Road in New Milford Friday afternoon, according to police. The crash happened at approximately 2 p.m. between River Road and Pacific Street, and the driver remained at the scene and cooperated fully with officers.

The child on the scooter suffered a serious head injury despite wearing a helmet, while the other child, who was on foot, suffered only a minor injury, according to Daily Voice, which first reported the crash citing New Milford Police Chief Brian Clancy. Both children are residents of New Milford, and their parents were with them at Hackensack University Medical Center as of Friday evening, per the same report. The Toyota driver is described as a 57-year-old New Milford man.

The Montvale Police Department detailed on Facebook that the vehicle involved was a Toyota Highlander, and that the crash site sat on Reichelt Road between River Road and Pacific Street. Forensic crime scene evidence was collected by the Bergen County Sheriff's Office Bureau of Criminal Identification, working alongside the Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, the department said in the same post.

Why the Children Were Rushed to Hackensack

Both children were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, home to the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, which holds Bergen County's only designated Level II pediatric trauma center, according to Hackensack Meridian Health. That designation means the facility offers round-the-clock specialized surgical and critical care for severe pediatric injuries, which explains why both children were routed there rather than a closer community hospital.

Under New Jersey law, bicycle and scooter riders under 17 are required to wear a helmet on public roadways, a requirement the injured 12-year-old had followed at the time of impact. The state's Safe Passing Law separately requires drivers to keep at least four feet of distance when passing pedestrians, bicyclists, or scooter riders on public roads, per the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Investigators have not said whether that buffer factored into Friday's collision, and the circumstances of the crash remain under investigation by New Milford Police, the Bergen County Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, and the Bergen County Crime Scene Unit.

A Collector Road Already Flagged for Upgrades

Reichelt Road is designated in New Milford's municipal master plan as an east-west collector roadway, running from River Road near Borough Hall to Boulevard on its eastern end, according to the Borough of New Milford's planning documents. The borough has previously targeted the corridor for capital improvements, having passed Ordinance 2023:22 to fund infrastructure work along the road, per borough records.

Friday's crash arrives as Bergen County has otherwise seen pedestrian deaths fall sharply. The county recorded seven pedestrian fatalities in 2025, a 68% drop from the 22 pedestrian deaths tallied in 2024, according to data reported by 70and73.com. Statewide, pedestrian fatalities fell 27% to 169 in 2025, down from 230 the year before, per state police figures cited in the same report.

That downturn followed a 36-year high in New Jersey pedestrian deaths in 2024 and coincided with the state's creation of the Target Zero Commission in January 2025, an inter-agency initiative with a statutory goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2040, according to NJATTY. Whether Friday's crash will factor into any new local enforcement or infrastructure response remains to be seen, as the investigation into what led the Toyota to strike the two children continues.