CLICK FOR UPDATE: Lodi teacher charged in Route 46 wreck that critically injured police officer



LODI — A Bergen County police officer was in critical condition after a crash with a suspected drunk driver on Route 46 early Saturday, authorities said.

Officer Daniel Breslin was extricated from his wrecked patrol vehicle and rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center with serious injuries, according to Capt. James Mullin of the Bergen County Police Department.

The driver who hit the police SUV ran from the crash and was caught by Lodi police a short time later, Mullin said in email. Charges were pending.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said authorities believed the motorist was driving drunk.

The officer was “badly” injured, Molinelli posted in a Twitter message. The crash “reminds us of the dangers all police face every day,” the prosecutor added.

Route 46 west would be closed, near Baldwin Avenue, until further notice for the investigation, according to a Lodi police alert.

Breslin, a 39-year-old married father of three, joined the county police force in 2010 after he was laid off from the South Hackensack Police Department through budget cuts, Mullin added.

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