Tree Falls on Police Car, Cop Suffers Severe Spinal Injury

A Wayne police officer was seriously injured Monday when a tree fell on top of the car he was in, Chief John Reardon said.

Officer Bob Franco and John Neukum, assistant chief of Fire Company 5, were injured when a tree on Lake Drive West fell and landed on the cars the men were occupying, Reardon said. Company 5 is located in the Packanack Lake section of town.

Franco was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson where was treated for a severe spinal injury. He was in surgery for seven hours, Reardon said, and can’t walk.

“We were told the surgery was a success and is recovering,” Reardon said. “He will be slow to recover.”

Neukum was treated and released at St. Joseph’s.

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