Ridgewood Man Swerves To Avoid Fox, Hits Utility Pole: Police

GLEN ROCK, NJ — A Ridgewood man was issued summonses after he struck a utility pole in Glen Rock and left the scene of the accident, police said. He told officers later that he had swerved to avoid a fox.

Glen Rock police arrived at the 400 block of Maple Avenue near Clifton place around 9 p.m. on Wednesday to investigate reports of a car accident. A large group of people were standing near a utility pole, and told police that a Dodge Charger had "hit the pole, backed up, and then drove away with extensive front end damage and a flat tire," Chief of Police Dean Ackermann said.

A trail of tire marks and the smell of burnt rubber led officers down Ackermann Avenue to Broad Steet into Ridgewood. Eventually, Glen Rock and Ridgewood police officers found the car in the parking lot at 112 N. Maple Ave., police said.

The owner of the car lives in an apartment nearby, and was soon located by police. He admitted to officers that he'd been driving the vehicle, and told them he'd swerved to avoid a fox in the road before he hit the utility pole.

His car was found to be in an unsafe condition to drive, and was towed from the parking lot.

He was issued summonses for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, operating a vehicle in unsafe condition, driving with an expired license and failure to report a motor vehicle accident, police said.

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