BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. -- One of three Bergen County motorcycle officers involved in a crash following a funeral detail lost his leg and remained hospitalized Friday morning, police said.
Bergen County Police Sgt. William Koretsky, 46, had some type of trouble negotiating a hill on Route 9W in Orangetown, N.Y., when his cycle collided with a box truck heading south, said Lt. John McAndrew of the Orangetown police.
Doctors later had to amputate Koretsky's left leg at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., McAndrew said.
We dont know if he hit a rut or if he was avoiding something in the roadway, said McAndrew, noting the accident remains under investigation.
Bergen County police Capt. Kevin Hartnett described Koretsky as a highly-decorated and well-respected officer with 25 years of experience.
"I was with him all last night. He's doing pretty well, but it's going to be a long road," said Hartnett, who expected Koretsky to remain in the hospital for quite awhile during his recovery.
"He's surprisingly upbeat," the captain said. "He's handling it very well. Much better than I would."
The crash caused a chain reaction involving two other officers on motorcycles, one from Cresskill and the other from Ridgefield, said McAndrew of Orangetown.
Creskill patrol Sgt. Bert Looby, 43, suffered a broken collar bone and broken hand. He was treated at Nyack Hospital and released, said Cresskill police Chief Stephen Lillis. The 18-year veteran has 10 years experience riding a motorcycle, his chief said.
"He always has a positive attitude and he had one last night," Lillis said.
Ridgefield Officer Ian Shaw, 48, a 12-year-veteran, was treated for injuries at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck and released Thursday night, said Ridgefield police Chief Richard Stoltenborg.
The driver of the truck, Rey Fabian, 26, of Paterson, and his two passengers weren't injured, said McAndrew, adding that Fabian hadn't been charged with anything.
The officers had participated in a funeral procession for the 20-year-old son of an Alpine police officer who had died of cancer.
The group was returning from the funeral service in Alpine and heading to the father's home in Old Tappan when the accident occurred around 2:15 p.m. Thursday.
Koretsky had been involved in a May 2006 crash in his Teaneck hometown, this time driving a police cruiser, while chasing a stolen car.
Koretsky, a diabetic, was barely conscious after his car smashed into a telephone pole, but doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center used a microchip implanted in his right arm to get his personal information.
Koretsky is believed to have made medical history, becoming the first emergency patient identified by the radio frequency identification chip (RFID), which is about the size of a grain of rice. Doctors using a hand-held scanner and a computer were able to determine his medical history immediately to help in treating him.
Koretsky got the chip at the urging of Bergen County Police Chief John Schmidig, who also has one.
Republished with permission of The Record.
