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Emerson HS Music Teacher Found Dead After Crashing Through Westwood Apartment Window

A private cremation was planned this weekend for a popular 84-year-old retired Emerson High School music teacher and Korean War veteran whose body was found outside his Westwood apartment.

Daniel Ludovici

Daniel Ludovici

Photo Credit: Vanderplaat Memorial Home

Daniel Ludovici apparently was headed to the bathroom before dawn Monday when he either tripped or suffered a medical episode and went crashing through a window at the Coventry Square Apartments off Charles Street across Old Hook Road from Pascack Valley Medical Center, authorities said.

The U.S. Army veteran was pronounced dead soon after.

His apartment door was locked and there was no sign of foul play, police told Daily Voice.

"He may have died before the fall," one said.

Ludovici taught music for several years at Emerson High School.

"He was a really nice guy. Everybody liked him," a friend said Tuesday.

Ludovici leaves behind a daughter, Robyn McNair; grandchildren Danielle and Aidan McNair, all of Rochelle Park, and step-grandchildren Natalie McNair and her husband, Tony Vaccarino, of Morris Plains.

Visiting hours were scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 113 South Farview Avenue in Paramus, NJ.

Donations in lieu of flowers to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306 would be appreciated.

OBITUARY: www.vanderplaat.com

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ORIGINAL STORY: An elderly Westwood man was found dead outside his apartment Sunday after crashing through a window, authorities said.

The 84-year-old victim struck a ground-level gas meter at the Coventry Square Apartments off Charles Street across Old Hook Road from Pascack Valley Medical Center.

An upper-floor window was broken, a shade hung out and glass surrounded the victim, whose body remained covered outside the building hours after the initial call came in, residents said.

The victim was pronounced dead soon after.

Detectives were investigating, Police Chief Michael Pontillo said.

"We don't believe there was anything criminal," the chief said, adding that investigators believe the incident occurred before dawn.

The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.

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