LAWRENCE: Teen heroes join police honorees

By Lea Kahn
   Justin Wiegmann and Justin Rufolo were on their way to a wrestling camp at The College of New Jersey last June when a car suddenly crossed in front of them, hit a mound of dirt and then struck a tree before coming to rest.
   The two Montgomery Township teenagers pulled over into the nearest driveway on Route 206, near Carter Road, and got out. Mr. Wiegmann, 17, and Mr. Rufolo, 16, agreed that they could not continue on their way, knowing the driver might have been injured.
   ”I ran to the car, but I couldn’t see inside. The car was filled with smoke,” Mr. Rufolo said. “I was afraid (the driver) might be hurt. I called to her, and she answered me. I just pulled on the door and got her out.”
   Mr. Rufolo said he and the woman stood next to the car, and he tried to calm her down. She wanted to reach back into the car for her personal belongings, but he grabbed her and directed her away from the car.
   Within seconds after they moved away from the car, it burst into flames.
   ”There was no time to be scared,” Mr. Rufolo said Tuesday night.
   For their actions, Mr. Wiegmann and Mr. Rufolo were honored by Township Council on Tuesday.
   They were among five civilians who received proclamations detailing their “exceptional service to the public” during the annual ceremony that pays tribute to police officers and civilians. It is held in conjunction with National Police Week, which was held last week.
   In addition to Mr. Wiegmann and Mr. Rufolo, father and son Joseph and Thomas Kmiec were honored for their role in helping police catch four burglars, one of whom was also charged with driving under the influence in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2010.
   Thomas Kmiec noticed some suspicious activity in the area of his driveway and a neighbor’s driveway on Charles Way, the proclamation said. He told his father about it, who called the police to let them know that someone was prowling around cars parked in the driveways.
   Joseph Kmiec continued to relay information to the Police Department dispatcher while the patrol cars were on their way to Charles Way, the proclamation said. The police officers were able to stop a fleeing car, based on the information relayed to the dispatcher.
   The police stopped the car and found items inside it that had been stolen from the neighbor’s car, the proclamation said. Four people were charged with burglary and theft, and the driver was charged with driving under the influence.
   The proclamations said that Township Council “pays tribute to Thomas Kmiec and Joseph Kmiec for (their) swift action and professional conduct to assist (their) victimized neighbor and help Lawrence Police to capture four burglary offenders and remove a drunk driver from the roadways of Lawrence Township.”
   And Roberto Juarez of Quaker Bridge Road was honored for helping to reunite a boy with his family, after the 11-year-old tried to run away from home because he had received a low grade at school last month.
   Mr. Juarez saw the boy, who appeared to be distraught, walking in the area, the proclamation said. He approached the boy and learned that he was upset over a low grade and he was running away from home.
   Mr. Juarez invited the boy to play soccer with his three children in an effort to calm him down. After the child had calmed down, he called the police. The boy was returned to his home by police officers, after he had been missing for about an hour.
   ”If it were not for the genuine concern, care and actions of Mr. Juarez, who helped a distraught child by sheltering him and giving him aid until the police could be notified, this child would have been exposed to further hazard and delayed from returning home,” the proclamation said.