WOODBRIDGE, NJ — After suffering a broken back, the Woodbridge Police officer who was hit by a car on Rt. 35 last week has now been released from the hospital.
The officer, identified by NJ101.5 as Alexander Rebelo, was hit by the car last Tuesday night on Rt. 35 near Midfield Road, in Woodbridge's Colonia section, said the local Woodbridge Police union, PBA 38.
Rebelo was hit while he was attempting to help a pedestrian get out of the busy roadway. The pedestrian was having a suspected psychiatric situation, said police.
"Several passing cars came to a stop, but the man's behavior became even more erratic as he continued walking in traffic," reported NJ101.5.
Rebelo ran after the patient to stop him from walking in the road, and that's when he was hit.
The driver immediately stopped, and cooperated with police officers.
Rebelo was very seriously injured: He suffered a fractured neck and back, a severe laceration to the head and several scrapes and road rash to the face and arms, said his union. He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, which is the area's local trauma center.
The injured officer was released from the hospital Friday, in a wheelchair, as seen in this walk-out video posted by the Woodbridge Police union:
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