AG's office confirms two deaths in Glen Ridge crash following pursuit as questions remain
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Wednesday confirmed that two people died in Tuesday's Glen Ridge crash that followed a police pursuit, but the state agency did not provide answers to several key questions.
The attorney general's office said the chase was initiated by Montclair police officers on Bloomfield Avenue at about 4:30 a.m., but did not state the reason for the pursuit. The chase continued into Glen Ridge, where the driver lost control and crashed.
The car, a silver Hyundai, crashed into a park on Bloomfield and Ridgewood avenues and hit a tree near the Glen Gazebo. The driver and a passenger were killed, and a third person was injured. The attorney general's office did not identify the two people who were killed.
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The officers who were chasing the Hyundai were "in the process of attempting to stop a vehicle in connection with a criminal investigation," the attorney general's office said, but did not say what the investigation was about, or if the men killed and injured in the crash were suspected of a crime.
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The crash happened not far from the site of one in 2018 that left two people dead. The 2018 crash also started as a pursuit initiated by Montclair police.
Though the cause of Tuesday's chase is not known, the state changed its guidelines on police pursuits on April 29, allowing cops to once again chase suspected car thieves, after previously being allowed to engage only to prevent death or serious injury. That policy was introduced in December 2021.
The attorney general's office is investigating the crash because of a law that requires the office to investigate any death resulting from an encounter with law enforcement.
The intersection and Bloomfield Avenue mark the main areas of activity in normally quiet Glen Ridge, an affluent borough with fewer than 8,000 residents. Mike Lucci, a Glen Ridge resident of four years, said although Bloomfield Avenue is busy in the area, he rarely sees any crashes.
"It's kind of shocking," Lucci said, noting that most times when he sees police officers in the area they're only helping kids cross the street.
Liam Quinn is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Email: quinnl@northjersey.com
Twitter: @Liam_D_Quinn
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Two killed in Glen Ridge NJ police pursuit crash, questions remain
