When a Jersey City man made the decision to get high on drugs and then get behind the wheel, he set in motion a series of events that would alter the lives of two New Jersey families forever. Driving well over the speed limit, the man crashed his sport-utility vehicle into a taxi, causing that vehicle to catch fire and pushing it onto the sidewalk directly into a pedestrian. When all was said and done, two men were dead. The man responsible for the accident walked away uninjured.
According to police reports, the fatal car accident occurred last week when the driver of a black SUV suddenly crashed into the back of a taxi cab. The force of the collision sent the car onto the sidewalk, where it struck a 41-year-old man who was walking home from work. That man suffered fatal injuries.
The taxi cab caught fire, trapping its passenger, a 44-year-old man, in the back seat. Employees at a nearby restaurant ran to the flaming vehicle and tried to get the man out in time. But even with the restaurant’s five fire extinguishers, witnesses could not get past the flames. The man suffered severe burns, and later died at a nearby hospital. The cab driver was not injured.
Both men who were killed left behind wives and families.
Following the accident, the driver of the SUV simply wandered off, unaware of the carnage he had just caused. He was later arrested, and now faces two criminal charges of death by auto and one charge of driving while intoxicated. Those charges could be upgraded pending a grand jury hearing later this year.
If a family member has been injured or killed in a New Jersey car accident, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation with an attorney.
Source: The Star-Ledger, “3 lives intersect: 2 killed in an instant, 1 left without a scratch in horrific Jersey City crash,” James Queally, Jan. 20, 2012
