A man from Linden was driving around Kearny on an ATV Nov. 2. And while he may have thought he knew the law, allowing him to make a mockery of himself without impunity, what he didn’t count on was crashing that ATV with police officers nearby.
According to Det. Sgt. Michael Gontarczuk, the Kearny PD’s public-information officer, whilst on patrol that day at around a quarter after 2 in the morning, Officer Derek Hemphill observed an ATV with no plates driving erratically in the lower end of town. The vehicle drove the wrong way westbound on Wilson Avenue from Schuyler Avenue. Per the Attorney General’s policy, no pursuit or attempt to stop the vehicle was conducted.
Minutes later, however, Officer Hemphill again observed the ATV near the intersection of Davis Avenue and Hoyt Street, and again did not pursue or activate his emergency lights. Upon sight of the police vehicle, the ATV made a U-turn and crashed into a parked vehicle.
The ATV was wedged into the bumper of the parked vehicle and when Officers Hemphill and Andy Soto approached on foot and ordered him to stop, the driver put the ATV in reverse and attempted to drive away.
While doing so, the rear tires were spinning and made contact with one of the officer’s legs, resulting in burns and abrasions.
The officers ultimately removed the actor from the ATV, brought him to the ground and placed him under arrest.
A search incident to arrest yielded a knife, lock picks, copper wire, latex gloves, cocaine and various items of drug paraphernalia.
Ricky Fernandez, 27, of Linden was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a police officer during an arrest, possession of burglary tools, possession of CDS, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a weapon, along with a slew of motor-vehicle offenses.
One officer was taken to the hospital for injuries.
Whether or not the ATV is stolen remains to be seen, as none of the vehicle identification numbers remain on it.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.