Elderly man struck by police vehicle

Lester Myers, 73, was crossing a street when he was struck by an unmarked police vehicle following the city sweeper Tuesday.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — Board of Fire Commission member and longtime Fire Department member Lester Myers Sr. was struck by the Police Department’s parking enforcement officer Tuesday as he crossed the street.
   Police said Mr. Myers looked away to try to see his only son, a Public Works employee whom he thought was driving a city road sweeper, according to police.
   Mr. Myers, 73, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Hunterdon Medical Center for further evaluation, according to Police Director Bruce Cocuzza.
   He received a "good-size bruise" on his left arm, a gash on his scalp and suffered pain in his right leg, Mr. Cocuzza said. He remained at the hospital at press time.
   "He appeared to have only minor injuries, but with an elderly person, you can’t predict," Mr. Cocuzza said.
   Tuesday at about 9:30 a.m., Officer Marie Collins followed in an unmarked vehicle behind the street sweeper, which actually was being driven by Public Works Director Paul Cronce. She customarily follows the sweeper as it makes its rounds to make sure vehicles do not block the sweeper’s path and issues citations when they do.
   Officer Collins followed the sweeper as it turned east onto Delaware Avenue. At the same time, Mr. Myers was in the crosswalk at Delaware and North Union Street and looked for his son, Lester Myers Jr.
   At that moment, Officer Collins had her eyes focused on the sweeper. The police vehicle struck Mr. Myers at a low rate of speed, police said.
   "Marie is like a basket case, but, hopefully, he’ll be OK," Mr. Cocuzza said. "It’s very unfortunate, but sometimes these things happen."
   Police have classified the incident as an accident.