Two Women Hospitalized After Car Smashes into SUV in Paramus

Two women were hospitalized in critical condition on Friday after a car slammed into the SUV they were travelling in, sending both cars into a concrete divider. The accident happened at about 9:15pm in Paramus on the Garden State Parkway. The vehicles were both headed southbound at the time of the crash.

The car, a 2011 Toyota Celica, was being driven by 23-year-old Heather Torres, a resident of Saddle Brook. She was travelling in the right lane when she lost control of the car. Police have not revealed the reason she lost control of her vehicle. It is not yet known if weather was an issue or if Torres’s focus was somehow distracted from the road.

The Celica rammed into a 2000 Chevy Blazer SUV in the center lane. This caused both cars to careen into the concrete median dividing the highway. The SUV flipped over and landed upside down on its roof. Two women inside were brought to the hospital in critical condition. Marleny Gonzalez and Gladis Garces, both of Paterson, suffered severe injuries. Other occupants of the SUV were also injured, but police have not released information about their names or condition.

No charges have been filed and the accident investigation is ongoing. “Sometimes, it isn’t possible to figure out why an accident happened or whose fault it was. In New Jersey, victims of car crash injuries can recover Personal Injury Protection benefits from their own insurance company no matter who caused a crash or why the crash occurred,” explains New Jersey car accident lawyer Paul A. Garfield. “This is called no-fault insurance and it is a way of guaranteeing that most car accident victims get the medical treatment they need. In many cases, it is also possible to bring a lawsuit against the driver who injured you or if the accident was caused by a vehicle that left the scene then an injured person can pursue their Uninsured Motorist Coverage under their own auto insurance policy.”

Paul A. Garfield is a New Jersey car accident lawyer certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. As a partner at the law firm of Davis, Saperstein, & Salomon, P.C., in Teaneck, NJ, he has represented many victims injured in car accidents. “In the case of someone being cut off where a driver left the scene, we bring direct claims against an auto insurance carrier and that is usually done out of court through an arbitration. Our firm will go after any responsible party to get justice for our clients,” says attorney Garfield, who can be reached at 1-800-LAW-2000 to discuss this insurance claim or any car accident in NJ or NY.