'No Brakes,' Says Driver, 71, Whose Pickup Plowed Into East Rutherford Restaurant

UPDATE: A driver whose pickup truck rammed through the wall of an East Rutherford restaurant as the new year dawned told police his brakes failed.

At the scene.
Photo Credit: *East Rutherford FD*

Jerry DeMarco

01/03/2022 11:12 a.m.

The Dodge Ram went straight through the wall facing the parking lot of Al Di La, a restaurant and banquet hall on Hoboken Road between Paterson Avenue and Enoch Street, around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

The 71-year-old driver was hospitalized with head pain, Deputy Police Chief Phillip Taormina said.

The driver told police he was trying to park when the brakes failed, Taormina said.

The truck then hit a parking bumper and plowed into the eatery.

Nick's Towing Service removed the pickup, the deputy chief said

The East Rutherford Building Department responded, along with a PSE&G crew, and deemed the building safe of any hazards, Taormina said. A building department contractor secured the outer wall, he said.

Police were investigating.

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