Jun and his family are now accusing the police officer who responded to the incident of attempting to cover for Calabrese:
Jun said the officer who responded, Patrol Officer Michael Gardenier, spent several minutes talking to Calabrese, 59, while Jun lay on the ground. He said Gardenier later asked him if he could stand up but never asked him what had happened. Calabrese, he said, drove away before the ambulance arrived.At the hospital, doctors told Jun's daughter that his injuries -- sizable bruises, scrapes and a sprained back -- were consistent with being struck by a car. Officers have apparently reclassified the incident since the initial report and now believe "there was some kind of vehicle/pedestrian encounter."
Gardenier wrote in the incident report filed that night that Jun, who speaks Korean but little English, told him he had fallen over a crack in the sidewalk. Gardenier included pictures of the sidewalk in his report.
The Fairview ambulance crew that brought him to Holy Name Hospital wrote in their report that Jun was the victim of a fall - though they also noted Jun told them he was struck by a car. The report was provided to The Record by Jun's family.
At the hospital, Jun told emergency room staff that he had been hit by a car, and a nurse asked Cliffside Park police to come take a statement from him, according to medical records provided by the family.
Yeah, turns out the 70-year-old Korean man didn't just trip over a sidewalk crack -- he was hit by a freaking car. Still, there are those who insist that "there was no coverup" of the accident. Jun has retained a lawyer, but only hopes to recoup the cost of his medical bills. Mainly, he just wants an apology.
