CLOSTER, NEW JERSEY —
A Northvale man riding a motorcycle was killed in a Friday night crash with an SUV on Herbert Avenue, authorities said.
Late Friday night, authorities canvassed the scene, shining lights on the black SUV with front-end damage as they placed numbered markers around the vehicle.
An unmarked police vehicle attempted to stop a 2017 Yamaha FZ1 motorcycle traveling at “high rate of speed” a few minutes before the crash, said Police Chief Dennis Kaine. The officer had to stop the chase near Homans Avenue due to the unsafe speed of the motorcycle.
At 7:52 p.m., the motorcycle crashed into the driver’s side of a 2017 Infiniti QX6 as it was making a left turn into a driveway on Herbert Avenue, Kaine said. Both vehicles were traveling north.
The motorcycle driver, a 23-year-old man from Northvale, was taken by the Closter Ambulance Squad to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Kaine said. The driver of the SUV refused medical attention at the scene.
Police are not releasing the name of the motorcycle driver, as the investigation is ongoing, Kaine said. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit is assisting with the investigation.
Vama Shah, who has lived a few houses down from the accident scene for three years, said she hears bikes outside somewhat often. It's still a pretty quiet street, Shah said, and she didn't realize what had happened at first.
"I was just eating dinner and I heard a thud," she said while standing outside her house Friday night. "All of a sudden all these police were here."