Off-Duty ICE Officer Rescues Woman, Dog From Hazlet Car Accident

HAZLET, NJ — A man who happened to be an off-duty immigration deportation officer was involved in a car accident last Friday evening in Hazlet, and he helped a man, woman and their dog who became trapped, upside down, in another car.

James LaForge, who is employed as a supervisory detention and deportation officer at ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Elizabeth, was off duty and driving his own car with his wife and two daughters inside last Friday evening, June 16, on Rt. 35 in Hazlet.

“At approximately 6:45 p.m. I was stopped in the middle lane at a traffic light on 35 southbound at the intersection of Bethany Road,” he said, according to an ICE press release. He watched as another car approached the intersection very quickly. It almost rear-ended him, but instead swerved into the right lane and hit another vehicle.

That vehicle then lost control and hit LaForge's rear passenger side panel, he said. His vehicle and family were OK, but the other two cars had overturned. LaForge ran out of his car and heard screaming coming from the driver’s side of the other vehicle. A man and woman were trapped in their seat belts in the overturned car. Their dog was also trapped in the car.

"I opened the door, unbuckled the seat belts and guided the male driver out of the vehicle. He told me that his wife and dog were still in the car and needed help," he said. "I then entered the car from the driver’s side and climbed across to the female passenger. I checked her for consciousness and visible injuries. She was alert, but suspended upside down and unable to loosen herself because of her seat belt."

"I climbed underneath her, released her seat belt, and assisted her to the ground. I checked again for injuries and helped her out of the vehicle," he said.

LaForge then ran over to the second overturned vehicle, the white car pictured above, but saw that everyone had gotten out of it. He then ran back to the first overturned car and pulled the couple's dog from the back of the car.

The entire scene played out in a matter of only about 10 minutes.

LaForge was commended by his superiors at ICE.

“His actions demonstrated high character during a stressful, public safety incident,” Deputy Field Office Director Jose Correa Sr. said.

An ICE spokesman said he did not know if LaForge is a Hazlet resident. Photos were provided by LaForge from the accident scene.