Franklin Borough crash that killed Flanders woman likely caused by medical episode
A 72-year-old Flanders woman died Monday after she suffered a severe "medical episode" that likely caused a two-car crash in Franklin Borough that seriously injured another, borough police said.
Diane P. Caddle died shortly after the 3:30 p.m. crash on Munsonhurst Road, known as County Road 517, roughly 350 feet from Foxhill Drive.
The woman was driving north when her Kia Sorrento crossed over the centerline and struck a Nissan Sentra head-on, according to Sgt. Robert Vander Ploeg. Caddle, who was alone in her vehicle, was found unresponsive and unconscious and given life-saving measures before she was taken to Newton Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
An investigation by the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office preliminarily found that prior to the crash, Caddle suffered "significant cardiac events and conditions," according to a crash investigation report obtained by the New Jersey Herald. Preliminary findings, dashcam video and damages to the vehicles confirmed Caddle either failed to or was unable to navigate her vehicle on the road, which caused the crash, Vander Ploeg wrote in the report.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 20-year-old from Sparta who was traveling alone, had to be removed by firefighters from her disabled vehicle and taken to Newton Medical Center. She suffered a right arm fracture, police said.
NJ newsExclusive: Ex-Cardinal McCarrick denies abuse of NJ man as criminal case hangs in balance
State newsFive housing affordability, protection bills advanced by NJ Legislature. What they do
County Road 517 between the Route 23 intersection in the borough and the intersection with Kennedy Avenue in Ogdensburg for roughly three hours.
Caddle is the mother of political operative Sean Caddle, a Hamburg man who pleaded guilty in January 2022 to his role in the contract killing of his former associate and friend, Michael Galdieri, in Jersey City in 2014. Caddle, who admitted in federal court he paid former jewelry ring mastermind George Bratsenis of Connecticut and Bomani Africa of Philadelphia to kill Galdieri, is facing eviction from a Hardyston townhouse in Crystal Springs he has purportedly failed to pay rent on.
Caddle, who is on home confinement with an ankle monitor, was expected to appear before a landlord-tenant judge on Tuesday for the eviction proceeding, but due to his mother's death, he was granted an adjournment to March 28.
"We are requesting that the court adjourn the eviction proceedings, Mr. Caddle's mother was involved in a fatal accident yesterday and for that reason, he will not be appearing in court," Ed Jacobs, his defense attorney, told a reporter with The Record and NorthJersey.com.
Sean Caddle's wife, Luisa, also took to Twitter to publicly tweet of her mother-in-law's passing, calling it the "saddest day of my life."
Caddle, who played a major role in the political campaigns of former state Sen. Ray Lesniak, also developed a web of dark money groups that have hidden their donors while funding various political campaigns in the state. After over a year, Caddle is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on the murder-for-hire charges in federal court on March 22.
Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Franklin Borough NJ fatal crash: Flanders woman had medical episode
