The two motorcyclists who sped through a New Jersey accident scene and hit three police officers investigating there have been taken into custody, police say.
Union City police officers were blocking off the street and investigating at Palisades Avenue and 31st Street Wednesday evening after a 16-year-old cyclist was hit and killed by a garbage truck. Authorities said that's when two motorcyclists zoomed through the intersection, hitting three officers.
Police said that one of the two motorcyclists ended up underneath the garbage truck, and was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, according to officials. That biker suffered non-life threatening injuries. The other biker fled the scene and was located by police Thursday.
The biker who ended up under the truck was later identified as 25-year-old Ricardo Suazo. He face scharges of assault by auto.
The biker who allegedly fled was identified as 24-year-old Aryan Acosta-Reinoso. He faces charges of eluding, aggravated assault and receiving stolen property, which police said was a motorcycle.
Suazo and Acosta-Reinoso, both Paterson residents, are expected to appear in court Friday.
All three injured officers will be OK, according to police. Two of them have been released from the hospital, and the third -- initially thought to be in critical condition but now is not -- is expected to be released Thursday or Friday.
The teenage bicyclist killed in the initial garbage truck accident was identified by friends as Sean Lenis, who was coming home from community college. He had a backpack with him, and the impact sent homework from the bag flying into the street, according to law enforcement sources.
The garbage driver has not been ticketed for now. Sources say it appears to be an accident but the investigation is continuing.
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Bystanders who were watching the investigation into the initial crash described the second impact as a "boom" that sounded like a gunshot.
"It was so crazy to watch," said one bystander. "As we were watching an accident that just happened, another one happened. It was so intense to witness."
The New Jersey State Patrolman's Benevolent Association asked people to "please pray for all the officers injured."
