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Fair Lawn Road Rage: Hit-Run Driver Mows Down Pedestrian, Police Say

FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- A 29-year-old Park Ridge man was in surgery after being deliberately run over by a Fair Lawn driver who then took off following a road-rage incident before dawn Saturday, borough authorities told Daily Voice.

Fair Lawn Avenue & Plaza Road, Fair Lawn

Fair Lawn Avenue & Plaza Road, Fair Lawn

Photo Credit: GoogleMaps

The victim was part of a group nearly struck by a blue 2006 Volkswagen Jetta just before 3:15 a.m. on Plaza Road at High Street, Sgt. Brian Metzler said.

Those involved said they approached the driver -- 21-year-old David Rodriguez of Fair Lawn -- after he stopped for a light a block away, at Fair Lawn Avenue, he said.

A passenger "eventually pushed the victim down to the ground and returned to the vehicle," Metzler said. "The driver then proceeded to run over the victim and flee the scene."

The victim was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

As officers were investigating the incident and medical personnel were assisting the victim, a bystander pointed out a car parked in front of the Wells Fargo Bank that contained people who might have been in the Jetta, the sergeant said.

Officers Geovanny Buitron and John Rovetto approached the vehicle to investigate, but the driver ignored them and tried to flee in reverse, he.

"Once stopped, the four occupants were taken out at gunpoint," Metzler said.

The officers arrested both Rodriguez and a passenger, 21-year-old Danial Dushaj of Long Island, who Metzler said failed to comply to officer’s commands.

The Volkswagen was located at Rodriguez's Hartley Place home and impounded.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, was charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of an injured person, leaving the scene of a crash  with injury, failure to report a crash, reckless driving and careless driving, among other counts. A judge ordered him held in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Dushaj, who was carrying marijuana, was released pending a hearing on obstruction of justice and drug possession charges.

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