Long Branch police car collides with vehicle on way to armed burglary, killing woman
LONG BRANCH − A woman was killed in a collision with a police cruiser responding to a break-in early Monday in the city, and the state Attorney General's Office is investigating.
According to preliminary investigation, a 911 call sent Long Branch police officers to the scene of a residential break-in by an armed burglar shortly before 4 a.m. Monday.
As officers went to the home in marked police cars, one of the cars collided with a vehicle on MacArthur and Elmwood avenues that authorities said was believed to be operated by a suspect in the break-in.
A woman who was a passenger in the vehicle that the cruiser collided with suffered serious injuries, the Attorney General's Office said.
She was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where she was pronounced dead shortly before 7:15 a.m. Monday, the office said.
The noise of the crash interrupted Steven Gaudius’ morning routine of making coffee.“It sounded like thunder,” he said.
When he and his son looked outside he saw one of the the two vehicles involved in the crash-on fire.
”We came out on the porch yelling, get away from the car because we could see it was on fire. They couldn’t because (the officers) were on the passenger side, ” he said.
Gaudius said he then saw one of the responding officers pull the woman involved in the crash from the burning vehicle, right before the flames exploded and set a tree on fire. Firefighters put the fire out.
A makeshift memorial had sprung up at the crash site by Tuesday afternoon, as mourners stopped by to place flowers and balloons in remembrance.
The Attorney General's Office declined to identify the woman and gave no reason for withholding her name.
More: Three officers cleared in killing of man who fired at them while holding a baby
The officer involved in the crash joined the search for the suspect, despite the injuries from the crash.
“He was out there doing his job right after that,” Gaudius said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Gaudius said they found the suspect hiding in bushes on his property near the corner of MacArthur and Elmwood after about an hour.
The officer in the collision was taken to the medical center, treated and released, the office said. His name was not released.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody and brought to the medical center for treatment of injuries suffered in the crash. His name was also not released.
The law requires the Attorney General's Office to investigate deaths that occur while the person who dies was in custody or during an encounter with a law enforcement officer on duty and to present the evidence to a state grand jury.
Ken Serrano covers crime, breaking news and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Woman dies after crash with Long Branch NJ police car headed to crime
