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The intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bartholdi Avenue in Jersey City, where a police lieutenant was involved in a collision with a car driven by Jersey City man on March 2, 2017.

(Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY -- A Jersey City police lieutenant who is a commander in the north police district has been suspended without pay after the city car he was driving collided with another car early Thursday morning.

The collision happened at Kennedy Boulevard and Bartholdi Avenue in the city's Greenville section just before 4 a.m. Thursday. City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill told The Jersey Journal the officer, Lt. Raymond Mahan, has been suspended "pending the outcome of the investigation, which concerns all circumstances surrounding the collision."

Mahan, 56, a 32-year veteran of the police force, was behind the wheel of an unmarked 2008 Chevrolet Malibu that collided with a 2015 Toyota Rav4 that was headed west on Bartholdi, according to the accident report.

The driver of the Toyota, a 53-year-old Bartholdi Avenue man, told police Mahan's Chevrolet had its emergency lights activated but because he had the green light he thought he could cross the intersection in time.

After the cars collided, Mahan's car hit two cars parked on Kennedy Boulevard, according to the report. The report indicates Mahan told police he "over steered" while trying to keep control of the car after the collision.

When investigating officers arrived on the scene Mahan's car was just south of Seaview Avenue, nearly four blocks away from the site of the collision, according to the report.

Both men were taken to Jersey City Medical Center, Mahan for a head injury and the other driver for chest and leg pains. Both were released the same day, according to a JCMC spokeswoman.

According to the accident report, Mahan had a passenger in the car, a Jersey City man of unspecified age who refused medical attention at the scene.

The Bartholdi Avenue man was cited for not stopping for an emergency vehicle, according to the report. That ticket is also under investigation, according to Morrill.

Payroll records show Mahan was first hired in July 1985 and makes a $154,000 salary. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2014.

A spokesman for Mahan's union declined to comment, citing the investigation into the collision.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.