NJ cop seriously injured by drunk driver during storm, police say

HAMILTON (Atlantic) — A man from North Carolina is facing DWI and other charges after police say he crashed into a police car and seriously injured a township officer late Friday night.

Police say one of their officers, identified as Officer Rudolph, was blocking traffic on the Black Horse Pike at Route 50 due to downed wires from the storm when a car crashed into his patrol car around 10 p.m.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Isaiah Rasul Muhammad Smith, of Whitsett, North Carolina.

Smith caused significant damage to both vehicles. The officer was to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.

Smith was uninjured and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was also issued summonses for careless driving, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, operating a vehicle without a seat belt, failure to yield to an officer’s direction, and failure to move over. He could face even more charges, police said.