Crime & Safety
Lodi Teacher Sentenced To 4 Yrs. For Crashing Into Cop: Report
An allegedly-drunk Michael Ettz critically injured Bergen County Police Officer Daniel Breslin when he slammed his car into Breslin's.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Lodi math teacher who struck a Bergen County Police Officer in 2014 was sentenced to four years in prison Friday.
Michael Ettz, pleaded guilty to assault by auto in 2016, more than two years after he reportedly drove drunk and rear-ended his vehicle into Breslin's Bergen County Police car on Route 46. Breslin was parked on the shoulder helping another police officer with his police radio.
Breslin's car was pushed into a utility pole and trapped him inside. Ettz fled the scene on foot, but was later apprehended by authorities. He was indicted aggravated assault, driving while intoxicated assault by automobile, and leaving the scene of a crash with serious injuries.
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Breslin suffered traumatic brain injury, including memory loss, and lost sight in one eye as a result of the crash, NorthJersey.com reported.
"The last four years have been nothing short of a nightmare," Breslin's wife Amy said in court, according to the NorthJersey.com report. "So much has been lost. I held our son Daniel Jr. because he would never truly have the chance to know his father."
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Ettz said in 2015 that he "absolutely" would not take a plea deal in the case.
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