A two-vehicle collision at McBride Avenue and Glover Avenue in Paterson left one car overturned and a driver trapped inside on Sunday, prompting a multi-department rescue effort. The full extent of injuries to the trapped occupant and the other driver has not been disclosed, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Multiple Departments Respond To Free Trapped Driver
According to MetroLaw.com, the crash occurred on October 4, 2026, when two vehicles collided at the intersection, leaving one vehicle overturned. Responders from several departments worked as a team to free the trapped person from the wreckage, the outlet reports. Neither the cause of the crash nor the number of people involved has been established in available reporting.
Per the same account, the full scope of injuries suffered by the trapped individual and by the other driver had not been disclosed as of publication. The investigation into the collision is still active, and no additional details about citations, arrests, or the circumstances leading up to the crash have been released.
What New Jersey's No-Fault Insurance System Means For Crash Victims
New Jersey operates under a no-fault insurance system, meaning a driver's own auto policy generally pays medical bills through personal injury protection regardless of who caused the crash. Standard PIP medical coverage in the state goes up to $250,000 per person, though drivers can choose lower limits, including as low as $15,000, according to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
Most auto insurance policies in the state also carry a lawsuit option that governs access to pain and suffering damages. The department notes that the Unlimited Right to Sue and Limited Right to Sue options determine whether an injured person can pursue noneconomic losses, while medical expenses and certain economic losses are paid through PIP limits regardless of that choice. If no option is selected, a limitation on the lawsuit option applies by default, generally requiring an injury to meet specified categories — such as a displaced fracture, significant scarring, or a permanent injury — before pain and suffering damages can be sought. A no-limitation option removes that injury threshold entirely but usually costs more in premiums, and which option applies can depend on the injured person's own policy or the policy covering them.
Clearing New Jersey's Injury Threshold Can Be Contentious
Meeting that injury threshold often turns on medical proof, treatment records, and physician opinions. A New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division opinion states that a plaintiff must show that, as a result of bodily injury arising from a defendant's operation of an automobile, the plaintiff suffered a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability. A physician typically must provide certification of a permanent injury within a set period after the defendant files an answer in a lawsuit.
Insurers often try to dispute whether an injury meets the required standard, making the threshold a frequent point of contention in crash-related claims. Metro Law says it offers assistance reviewing policy options and injury claims for people navigating these situations. As the Paterson investigation continues, no further information about the drivers, the vehicles, or the cause of the crash has been made public.
