Seven Cedar Grove Residents Injured in Haledon Crash

Seven young adults from Cedar Grove were injured in a single-car crash in Haledon on Saturday, and one of the victims remains in serious condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, police said Monday.

Haledon Police Detective Lt. Christopher LeMay said Monday, Nov. 14 that the victims, whose names and ages were not immediately available, were all injured in the 1:48 a.m. Belmont Avenue crash when the driver, John Vanderstreet, 22, of Cedar Grove, struck a pole with his Jeep Liberty, which was packed with two more passengers than its five-passenger capacity.

Most of the passengers received non-life threatening injuries, and were treated and discharged, LeMay said, but one Cedar Grove woman, whose name was not released, is still in serious condition. No additional information was available about her condition at this time.

LeMay said he has received "conflicting reports" if the passengers were leaving a party or a bar, but said the department is investigating the possibility that alcohol was involved, and are awaiting blood tests from the state laboratory before deciding whether to file charges. No charges have been filed at this time.

"We are trying to determine which if any of them were drinking," LeMay said Monday.

LeMay said that since the crash resulted in injuries, the investigation now rests with the Passaic County Prosecutor's office.