Off-Duty N.J. State Trooper Dies in Turnpike Accident

By Kara Seymour and Dan Hubbard:

A New Jersey State trooper died in an early-morning car accident on the NJ Turnpike, officials confirmed Friday.

Trooper Glenny Almonte was in a personal car and off duty at the time of the accident, which happened around 1:45 a.m. near the Vince Lombardi service area in Rutherford, State Police said.

According to a preliminary investigation, Almonte’s silver Honda Accord was in the southbound side of the turnpike when it struck a curb and guardrail and collided with a southbound tractor-trailer, State Police said.

Rescue personnel from the Ridgefield Fire Department extricated Almonte from the car. He was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m., State Police said.

“The loss of Trooper Glenny Almonte saddens the entire State Police family,” State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said in a statement. “We are offering support to Trooper Almonte’s loved ones as well as to all of our employees touched by this tragedy.”

Almonte was a graduate of the State Police Academy Class of 2013. He served as a general duty trooper out of the Totowa Station, police said.

The State Police Fatal Accident and Crime Scene Investigation units and personnel from Newark Station, are investigating the accident, authorities said.