UPDATE Port Authority Policeman Critical After Crash Near Tunnel

JERSEY CITY — A Port Authority Police Officer was critically injured early Tuesday morning while on the scene of a prior car crash not far from the Holland Tunnel.

The westbound ramp to Route 139 near the tunnel was closed as of 6:30 a.m. following the accident. (The road reopened by 10 a.m.)

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said Tuesday afternoon that the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit is investigating the crash, in which two Jersey City Police Officers also sustained minor injuries.

"The Port Authority Police Officer was struck by a motorist while securing the roadway from a prior motor vehicle accident," Suarez said. "At this time, the Port Authority Police Officer remains in critical condition at the Jersey City Medical Center."

“We are asking everyone to keep our officer in your thoughts and prayers as he works to pull through this,” said Edward Cetnar, superintendent of the Port Authority Police Department. “These are serious injuries, but we know he is a fighter.”

On Tuesday, just after 12:30 a.m., the Jersey City Police Department responded to a
motor vehicle accident in which a driver, a 32-year-old New York woman, overturned her vehicle on eastbound Route 139 (a depressed highway). The driver was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center with minor injuries and has since been released.

While the Port Authority Police Officer and three Jersey City Police Officers were securing the initial crash scene and doing traffic control, another motorist heading eastbound on Route 139 struck the median divider, then struck a JCPD radio car, and then struck the Port Authority Officer, causing serious injuries, the prosecutor's office said.

The driver, a 27-year-old New York woman, was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center for examination but has since been released.

This is an active investigation and no charges have been filed at this time.

“This crash is yet another reminder that our first responders put their lives on the line every day,” said Prosecutor Suarez. “We are praying that the officer makes a full and quick recovery.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All
information will be kept confidential.

Even though commuter traffic has been cut drastically due to coronavirus lockdowns, the artery is a major route for buses and cars heading to lower Manhattan.

The tunnel will be closing overnight on Fridays into Saturdays for repairs, into 2022.

Until spring 2022, Holland Tunnel’s NY-bound lanes are closed Friday late night into Saturday, from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., for a multi-year Superstorm Sandy-related repair & resiliency project. The NJ-bound lanes remain open at all times. More: https://t.co/YSevbOxQPC pic.twitter.com/9Zw6o2oDj9
— Holland Tunnel. Stay Home. Stop the Spread. (@PANYNJ_HT)

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