Around 1:23 a.m. on Route 17 South and Bergen Avenue, a southbound J.B. Hunt tractor-trailer rear-ended an unmarked police unit. Waldwick, N.J., officer Christopher Goodell, 32, who was operating a radar in the vehicle was killed.
The 18-wheel tractor-trailer had moved onto the right shoulder at the intersection of Bergen and 17, said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. It pushed Goodell's Chevy Impala through the Bergen intersection and into a retaining wall next to a residential area. Goodell was pronounced dead at 1:41 a.m.
He was a graduate of Waldwick High School. Waldwick Chief Mark Messner called Goodell an "outstanding and proactive officer" who would be "sorely missed." He was in the Marines, and was an experienced traffic and radar officer.
"He was an outstanding person. He was an outstanding officer," Messner said. "He loved his country. He loved his town. He loved his police department. He leaves behind his family and a young fiancee."
The mayor of Waldwick, Tom Giordano, released a statement Thursday morning expressing the community's sadness.
"We extend our deepest sympathy and friendship to his family and his fellow police officers," it read. "Rest in peace Chris, you will never be forgotten for the good deeds you have done for the residents of Waldwick."
The tractor-trailer driver was not hurt. 29-year-old Ryon Cumberbatch of Brooklyn has been charged with 2nd degree Vehicular Homicide.
Residents next to the retaining wall were awoken by the crash, and authorities were examining homes for possible damage.
The incident is under investigation.