Cops get rear-ended by drunk driver

by Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal
Sunday November 02, 2008, 3:28 PM

Two cops were injured last night when a sports utility vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood slammed into their patrol car at a motor vehicle stop in Jersey City, police reports said.

Jesus Hernandez Diaz, 34, of Summit Avenue, was charged for offenses including driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and reckless driving, police reports said.

Firefighters had to cut officers Ryan Licata and Dennis Ortiz out of their car after Diaz plowed his 1992 Lexus GS400 into the back of their stationary patrol car at Kennedy Boulevard and Congress Street at around 11:15 p.m., reports said.

When the accident happened, Licata and Ortiz were checking a driving license that belonged to the driver of another vehicle they had stopped, police said. Both officers had to be extradited from their vehicle before being treated at Jersey City Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries, reports said.

Diaz was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol and a breathalyzer test showed he had a blood alcohol count of .18, police said. The legal limit in New Jersey is 0.08. Diaz was also found to have a outstanding warrant out of Atlantic City, reports said.