A Linden police officer riding motorcycle escort for a funeral procession was seriously injured shortly before 11 a.m. Monday when a van entering a private driveway struck his motorcycle on Roselle Street. The officer was rushed to University Hospital in Newark and is listed in stable condition with injuries described as serious but non-life-threatening.
Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said the officer was traveling south on Roselle Street aboard a marked police motorcycle when he collided with a Ford van that was turning into a private driveway, according to Daily Voice. The Linden Police Department confirmed the crash happened during a funeral procession the officer was helping to guide through the area. Neither the officer nor the van driver has been publicly identified, and the van driver was not injured, as reported by NJ.com.
The State Policeman's Benevolent Association said the van was making an illegal turn when it struck the officer's motorcycle, and the union urged people to pray for the injured officer, per the same NJ.com report. Official fault has not been determined, however, and any citations remain pending a full crash reconstruction by the Union County Police Traffic Bureau, according to Daily Voice.
Why the Officer Was Rushed to Newark
The Officer's Treatment in Newark The officer was taken to University Hospital in Newark. The hospital houses the Eric Muñoz Trauma Center, the state-designated Level I Trauma Center serving all of northern New Jersey, which specializes in complex, life-threatening surgical care, according to University Hospital Newark. The section of Roselle Street between Ziegler and Elizabeth avenues was closed while investigators worked the scene.
New Jersey law adds a layer of complexity to how officers manage funeral escorts like the one Monday's procession involved. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:4-93, funeral processions do not hold an automatic blanket right-of-way over general traffic, though the statute requires processions lasting longer than five minutes to pause every five minutes so waiting traffic can cross, per Justia Law.
A Rough Stretch for North Jersey Officers on the Road
Monday's crash came more than 30 hours after another North Jersey officer was seriously injured in an early-morning hit-and-run while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 80, with state police still searching for the fleeing sedan, according to WRNJ Radio. Hoodline previously reported on that I-80 hit-and-run.
Roselle Street itself carries a troubling safety history — a prior crash at Roselle Street and Monmouth Avenue killed a motorcyclist, according to the Linden Police Department.
