New Jersey police officer hits, kills man walking near police station parking lot

A 51-year-old Newark man died Monday after he was struck by a vehicle driven by a Paterson police officer that was exiting the police station parking lot, authorities said.

The victim died after being taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson with injuries to his arm and head, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and the department’s officer in charge Paterson Police Department, Isa Abbasi.

Authorities did not say whether the officer was on duty at the time of the crash. They also did not say whether the officer was driving a private vehicle or a marked patrol car.

Valdes and Abbassi said the victim was struck around 6:50 p.m. as the officer was leaving the Paterson Police Department parking lot on Memorial Drive.

“The officer remained on scene and attempted to help the victim,” Valdes and Abbassi said in a joint statement Tuesday. The police officer has not been charged.

Investigators did not release the names of the officer and the victim Tuesday. The pedestrian’s death remains under investigation, Valdés and Abbassi said.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call the prosecutor’s office at 1-877-370-PCPO or email [email protected]. Paterson Police detectives can be reached at 973-321-1120.