Howell police officer injured responding to suspected overdose call
A Howell Township police officer is recovering from a fractured hand after colliding with another vehicle Monday night while rushing to a call for a suspected overdose, according to authorities.
Officer Heather Scherbinski was traveling south on Route 547 with lights and sirens activated, along with another patrol unit and first-aid after department received the 9-1-1 call around 6:30 p.m. reporting the victim to be unconscious and not breathing, according to Police Chief Andrew Kudrick in a post on the department's Facebook page.
Patrolwoman Scherbinski collided with the vehicle, which also was southbound but making a left turn into a driveway as Scherbinski was passing, according to Kudrick. Scherbinski's vehicle veered off the road and into a fence and tree.
Scherbinski and the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. She was treated for a possible fractured hand and released. The conditions of the other victims were not considered life threatening, Kudrick said.
The 28-year old overdose victim was found in the bathroom surrounded by paraphernalia associated with heroin use, according to Kudrick. Patrolman Richard Robertiello administered Narcan and successfully revived him. He was transported to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold by Howell First-Aid.
"Fortunately, he too will be fine. Hopefully, this is a hard lesson learned for him and he stops this behavior," Kudrick said in the post, as he expressed frustration over one of his officers being injured as well as the lives of others being put at risk.
"In New Jersey, the Overdose Prevention Act prohibits law enforcement from charging someone in such a case as they are considered immune from criminal prosecution. This even applies if a police officer, emergency responder or innocent person gets injured as a result of their illegal conduct," said Kudrick. "Conversely, if during the course of committing a crime a law abiding person gets injured, the criminal faces enhanced charges to the offense they committed. They are responsible for the injuries caused to another by their illegal conduct," he said.
Kudrick also pointed out that it's a matter of time before a police officer or another innocent person gets seriously injured and/or killed responding to a heroin overdose.
He said priop to the heroin epidemic, CPR calls were infrequent, noting that "Nowadays, it's all too frequent."
Kudrick added the Howell Police Department and its community partners are committed to a continual proactive approach in addressing the problem.
More From 92.7 WOBM
