Man Not Injured After Driving Off Route 17 Into Creek in Heights

A Hackensack man who police believe fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a creek off Route 17 North in Hasbrouck Heights Saturday morning was not injured after a another man came to his aide, police said.

George Baidoo, 45, is a hotel custodian who works a night shift in Secaucus and was on his way home from work, according to his friend, a Teaneck man, NorthJersey.com reported.

The incident occurred just after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.

A Good Samaritan helped get Baidoo out of the water after calling 911 and before police arrived at the scene, according to Sgt. Kevin Corbliss of the .

“[Baidoo] was travelling on Route 17 northbound; he had worked on the night shift. He had fallen asleep and drove into the creek,” Corbliss told Patch. “He was completely uninjured.”

Corbliss said police, fire and ambulance responded, but that Baidoo “did not go to the hospital with our ambulance.”

He said the car Baidoo was driving was completely underwater when the emergency responders arrived.

“We contacted to remove the [car] from the creek, and the DEP was notified,” Corbliss said. “But there wasn’t a gasoline spill.”

He said police do not know the name of the man who helped rescue Baidoo.

“That’s the thing about a Good Samaritan – he just asked if everyone was alright, and then drove off and was on his way,” Corbliss told NorthJersey.com.