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PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT contributing photographer Brett M. Dzadik was on the scene this morning after an SUV hit a snowbank and went airborne off the side of a Route 80 bridge in Hackensack, landing 40 feet from the river.
Two young women in the Toyota Rav-4 — the 23-year-old driver from Bergenfield and her passenger, a 25-year-old Garfield woman, survived with relatively minor back and neck injuries after being rescued by Hackensack firefighters.
The SUV was headed east on the highway when another vehicle cut them off around 7;10 a.m., Hackensack Police Director Michael Mordaga told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
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“As they swerved to get out of the way, they hit the snow embankment along the guard rail,” Mordaga said.
The snow, plowed against the guard rail after the recent storms, acted as a ramp.
“It basically sent their car airborne off the highway,” Mordaga said.
The car plummeted nearly 60 feet, landing in the Ever-Ready oil lot near the Hackensack River off South River Street.
PHOTOGRAPHER Brett M. Dzadik
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BrettsFirePhotos.com
A tree and chain link fence helped brace the landing.
Responding instantly, Hackensack firefighters removed both doors and the roof, talking with both victims through the process, Hackensack Fire Lt. Justin Derevyanik said. READ MORE….
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