Mercer Times

The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal motor vehicle crash that occurred on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The multi-vehicle crash followed a police pursuit that began in Newark and ended in East Orange. The driver of one of the vehicles sustained fatal injuries, while two drivers from other civilian vehicles sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The identities of those involved are not being released at this time.

According to the preliminary investigation, detectives from the Bloomfield Police Department (BPD) received an Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) notification alerting them to the presence of a vehicle of interest in a pending robbery investigation. After locating the vehicle and following it from Bloomfield to Newark, BPD officers attempted to initiate a motor vehicle stop. When the driver refused to pull over, BPD officers pursued the vehicle into Bloomfield and ultimately to East Orange. There, the pursued vehicle crashed into a civilian vehicle and then careened into two other vehicles, including a parked ambulance.

The driver of the pursued vehicle died from injuries sustained in the crash. All other involved civilians suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The police vehicles involved in the pursuit were not directly involved in the collisions.

The investigation is ongoing, and no further information is being released at this time.

A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports returning an indictment against the officer or officers involved.