New Jersey man charged in connection with fatal accident

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A Bergen County prosecutor released a statement on Aug. 30 announcing that a 20-year-old man was charged in connection with a July 24 accident that killed a passenger of the vehicle he was driving and injured another. He was suspected of having been impaired by controlled substances when the crash occurred. The driver, a resident of Fort Lee, was charged with death by auto, assault by auto and driving while intoxicated. The results of a blood test were pending on the day of the announcement.

The car accident occurred around 1:30 a.m. when the driver, who was heading north on Broad Avenue in a Honda Civic, lost control of his vehicle. It jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and hit two signs before heading back onto the roadway. The car then drove into oncoming traffic until it veered off Broad and crashed into the office of a local accountant.

The 20-year-old passenger in the front seat died about an hour after the crash at a local hospital. The other passenger, also 20, was hospitalized with serious injuries along with the driver who was still in care when he was charged.

The family of an individual killed in an auto accident may be confronted with financial hardship after the incident due to funeral and burial costs, hospital bills and losing the income of the decedent. If retained by a victim’s family members for a wrongful death suit, a personal injury attorney would likely review witness accounts, the police report and, if available, an accident reconstruction report to gather evidence that would establish a defendant’s negligence.

Source: NJ.com, “Fort Lee man, 20, charged in Ridgefield crash that killed passenger“, Noah Cohen, August 30, 2014