Teenage Girl Cited in Crash at Intersection of Ackerman and Bellair

A teenage girl has been issued three citations by the Ridgewood Police Department for her role in an accident that led to damage to two vehicles and property on Doremus Avenue Thursday at around 8:30 p.m.

According to Police Chief John Ward, the driver of a Ford F-450 pickup truck was traveling north on Ackerman Avenue when he spotted the 17-year-old girl in a 2011 Jeep Patriot traveling east on Belair Road. The chief said the pickup truck driver observed the teen blow through the stop sign on Belair without headlights on and then struck his vehicle, causing front-end damage to both.

The force of the impact reportedly caused the Ford F-450 to slam into multiple bushes and trees on a property on Doremus Avenue, causing damage.

The driver of the pickup suffered no injuries and, according to the chief, while the airbags deployed on the Patriot and the juvenile complained of leg pain, she refused medical attention.

"Thank God nobody was hurt," Ward said early Friday afternoon.

The 17-year-old was issued citations for failure to stop and yield, not having headlights on and failure to provide proof of insurance, he said.

Mike Doherty, a concerned neighbor on nearby Randolph Street said at the scene Thursday night that like Ward, he was relieved the crash didn't result in injuries, or worse, death.

"I'm glad nobody died, that's what's important," he said. Doherty called the area a "bad intersection" and remarked that an elderly woman was involved in a gruesome accident here last year.

"She was hanging upside down in her car," he said.

Police shut down the intersection shortly after the Thursday night crash, preventing passage from all sides. The area was opened by 10 p.m.