Lawsuit alleges N.J. mayor pursued stolen vehicle that crashed, killing 2
The mayor of Princeton was behind the wheel of a vehicle that engaged a fleeing stolen car in late 2021 which eventually crashed in town, killing a teenage suspect and an innocent motorist[1], a recent lawsuit filing alleges.
Mayor Mark Freda activated a blue emergency light in his vehicle during the pursuit or chase, the suit charges.
Freda did not immediately return emails seeking comment Wednesday. Princeton Administrator Bernard P. Hvozdovic, Jr. declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Voters elected Freda mayor in 2020[2] and he took office in January 2021. He previously served many years on the town’s council as well.
Freda is also a 45-year member of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad[3], for which he currently serves as president.
In one of those roles, Freda was involved in the pursuit or chase of a vehicle on Nov. 7, 2021 that crossed into oncoming traffic on Princeton-Kingstown Road and killed driver Jodi Marcou, 61, of South Brunswick.
The driver of the stolen vehicle, 15-year-old Damajia Jenay “Majia” Horner, of Newark, also died in the collision. (An unidentified 14-year-old passenger from Newark was critically injured and survived.)
The allegation is in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Marcou’s husband David Marcou, who is suing the town, the estate of Horner and several others. Freda was added in July to the suit, filed in Middlesex County, records show.
The filing does not offer many specifics on Freda’s alleged involvement in the crash. It says he activated the blue light – a device used by volunteer firefighters and EMS – and knew or should have known it would lead to a “dangerous response,” the suit says.
“Defendant Freda had no formal authority in activating his blue lights and in conducting any form of pursuit or at speed chase of the vehicle … Horner was operating and was not authorized to conduct such light activation or any form of an speed chase or pursuit,” it says.
Marcou’s lawyer, Nicholas J. Leonardis, said Wednesday he could not comment on many details, but said their investigation of the incident shows Freda had “significant involvement in the matter.”
The incident started as a report of a possible stolen vehicle, Princeton police have said.
Police were alerted by a call reporting three people had fled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee after trying to steal a vehicle on Clover Lane.
An officer located the Jeep a few minutes later heading west on Clover Lane, which was followed by a Land Rover Range Rover that had just been stolen from a residence on Dodds Lane, police said.
The officer investigating the initial attempted theft began following the Range Rover, but the Jeep fled in another direction. (The Jeep had been reported stolen Pequannock Township.)
Police briefly pursued the Range Rover, but cut off the chase near Snowden Lane because of the vehicle’s reckless driving. The Range Rover was later found abandoned in Newark.
About 30 minutes later, police responded to the crash involving the Jeep and Jodi Marcou’s Acura RDX on Princeton-Kingston Road at Carnegie Drive. Horner and Marcou died at the scene.
In May 2022, Princeton police charged Elhajjmalik Diallo[4], then 19, of Newark with hiring the teens to steal the Jeep.
They charged him with employing a juvenile to commit a criminal offense and several related charges, and he was also implicated in burglary and theft offenses in four other counties, Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Ocean, records show.
From February to July of this year, Diallo, now 21, was sentenced to prison for the offenses in the five counties, the last being Mercer County. He is currently serving an aggregate three years in the state prison system under the name Elhajjmal Diallo, records show.
He is eligible for parole in September 2024.
Marcou lived in Kendall Park in South Brunswick and was a fundraising coordinator at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information. She is survived by her husband and two grown married children.
“Jodi will always be remembered for volunteering her time to help anyone in need. She loved to meditate, play cards and Mahjong. Jodi’s favorite activities included hiking with her husband and walking with friends. Her family and friends were her world,” her obituary[5] said.
Horner attended Newark Kipp Collegiate High School, her obituary[6] said. Her family remembered her as a joyous teen with a big smile who loved teasing her brothers and sisters and eating popsicles who had dreams of becoming a rapper.
She “obsessed over her sneakers,” and loved the color red, her mom’s blue smoked chicken, and SpongeBob.
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Kevin Shea may be reached at [email protected][8]
References
- ^ killing a teenage suspect and an innocent motorist (www.nj.com)
- ^ Freda mayor in 2020 (www.princetonnj.gov)
- ^ 45-year member of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad (pfars.org)
- ^ police charged Elhajjmalik Diallo (www.nj.com)
- ^ her obituary (www.legacy.com)
- ^ her obituary (plintoncurry.com)
- ^ NJ.com (www.nj.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.nj.com)