Support pours in for former NJ local police chief’s son after vacation tragedy

💙 Robbinsville rallies around former police chief’s family
✈️ Teen critically injured during family vacation
💰 GoFundMe nears $250K as medical costs surge

ROBBINSVILLE — The community has rallied to support Robbinsville’s retired police chief after his son was critically hurt while on a family vacation.

Robbinsville Police Chief Mike Polaski retired effective a year ago, after 25 years of service.

On Dec. 28, college freshman Matthew Polaski suffered a severe head injury after a fall in the Dominican Republic.

Emergency surgery and international medical transport

Doctors performed emergency surgery to relieve brain swelling.

The teen — who is a freshman at the University of Alabama — was placed in a medically induced coma, and flown to Miami, where he remained in critical condition.

Robbinsville community raises funds as medical bills mount

A GoFundMe campaign for the Polaski family had raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars as of Friday, as medical bills were quickly racking up, according to the fundraiser.

“We started this GoFundMe after learning that the hospital in the Dominican Republic has already billed nearly $75,000. International medical transport costs alone are estimated between $35,000 and $55,000," organizers Thomas Egan and John Clark said in a campaign summary.

"Unfortunately, insurance provides very limited coverage for international medical care, and even with insurance, medical expenses in the U.S. add up quickly. This is only the beginning,” they continued.

“Our goal is to help ease the financial burden so Mike and his family can focus entirely on their son’s recovery,” according to the campaign shared on Tuesday by the Robbinsville Police Department to its official Facebook page.

Small signs of progress offer hope amid uncertainty

A New Year’s Eve update shared that the teen had suffered multiple skull fractures, a fractured pelvis, and lower back vertebrate fractures.

Among the most hopeful developments were that Matthew had opened his mouth and squeezed his mother’s hand in response as she was at his bedside.

“Matthew is a hardworking, respectful young man with a deep passion for gymnastics. He recently began his college journey at Alabama, joined Sigma Pi fraternity, and has his whole future ahead of him,” the same GoFundMe campaign said of the injured teen, as his family faces “unimaginable uncertainty.”

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