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North Plainfield Police Department

Press Release

Chief William Parenti

December 9 , 2014

North Plainfield Police Chief William Parenti announced that the department is investigating a motor vehicle accident involving two passenger vehicles that sent 11 people to area hospitals on Tuesday morning.  Chief Parenti indicated the department received notification of a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Brook Avenue and Norwood Avenue at 8:18 am.  Responding units found that a collision had occurred between a Honda Odyssey and a Chevrolet Malibu.   

Preliminary investigation determined the Honda was east bound on Brook Avenue, and the Chevrolet was north bound on Norwood Avenue.   The intersection is controlled by stop signs posted on the north  bound, and south bound lanes of Norwood  Avenue at the intersection with Brook Avenue.

The Honda was operated by Paulina Muncha-Collao, 27 years old, of Plainfield.  The Chevrolet was operated by Ana Rivas, 40 years of age, of Plainfield.  The Honda had 8 juveniles aboard and the Chevrolet had 1 juvenile aboard.  Although there appeared to be no serious life threatening injuries all parties were transported to John F. Kennedy Hospital in Edison and Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.  The names of all children are not being released due to their status as juveniles. 

Emergency responders at the scene included the North Plainfield Fire Department EMS; the Plainfield Rescue Squad; and Paramedics from JFK Hospital.  The accident is still under investigation and Chief Parenti urges anyone with information to contact the North Plainfield Police Department Traffic Safety Unit at (908)769-2937.