Cranford Man Seeks Info On Hit-And-Run, Thanks Woodbridge Police

CRANFORD, NJ — If the car in the photo was yours, you'd likely want to know who was behind the wheel of the other one.

Patrick Hanrahan of Cranford wrote to Patch on Thursday night, "I live in Cranford and was a victim of a hit-and-run today on the Garden State Parkway about 1/4 mile from the Clark/Westfield exit heading northbound. As far as I can tell it was a white SUV-type vehicle."

He said he's offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the identification of the other driver.

He noted, "Everything happened so fast and I was in shock. His license plate tag was flapping in the wind and was plastic or paper and I couldn’t get a good look at it."

But there was a silver lining in the form of two helpers: "I pulled over and couldn’t find my phone to dial 911. I stuck my hand out the window and tried to wave other cars down and people just slowed down and kept going. That is until two young men, off duty police officers from Woodbridge, pulled over and assisted me. They called 911 and EMS."

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Hanrahan later found out their names: Officer Robert Vanco and Officer Khari Manzini. He said he didn't know they were police until they said they were off-duty officers.

Hanrahan sent the department a letter thanking them. He says he's sending the department pizza and lasagne on Saturday.

Meanwhile, he'd like to find out who was driving the other vehicle.

"Based on my car damage, the state trooper was surprised the other [car] could drive away," he said. He also said he was taken away by ambulance.

The accident happened between 1:30 and 1:45 p.m. on Thursday.

He said anyone with information should call the state police at 609-882-2000. Hanrahan can be reached at phanrahan99@gmail.com.

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