Sen. Bob Menendez’s Wife Nadine Struck And Killed A Man With Her Car In 2018
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Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) then-girlfriend, now wife Nadine, hit and killed a man with her car in New Jersey in December 2018, according to police records first reported by NorthJersey.com and The Record on Wednesday.
Nadine Menendez, then named Nadine Arslanian, wasn’t charged over the car crash.
The revelation provides more detail behind the couple’s Sept. 22 indictment on bribery charges — namely, why Nadine Menendez needed the car, which was among the items the couple reportedly accepted.
They are accused of accepting cash, gold and a luxury car in exchange for helping Egypt unlock military aid. Additionally, the accusations include claims they helped three New Jersey businessmen in their dealings with Egypt and to evade charges. The husband and wife have pleaded not guilty.
Now, new information reveals Nadine Menendez was driving her Mercedes-Benz in Bogota, New Jersey, around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2018, when she struck 49-year-old Richard Koop. He was killed almost instantly just steps away from his home, according to The New York Times.
In dashboard video and audio obtained by NBC News, Nadine Menendez can be heard in her 911 call saying, “Some guy just jumped in front of my car... on my windshield.”
A police investigation later concluded that she was not “at fault” in the crash. “Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk,” the Bogota Police Department report said.
A lawyer for the Koop family, Sheri Breen, told NBC New York that Nadine Menendez waited several minutes before calling 911. She said Koop had gone out with friends that evening, took an Uber and was crossing the street to get home.
Bob Menendez told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday that it was a “tragic accident, and obviously, we think of the family.”
The couple began dating in February 2018 and married in October 2020.
According to the indictment, Nadine Menendez “was involved in a car accident in or about December 2018 that left her without a car.” In January, she sent text messages to Wael Hana, a friend and one of the three other businessmen defendants, complaining about her lack of a car.
The indictment alleges that the defendants agreed that Bob Menendez would use his influence to interfere with the prosecution of a New Jersey defendant in exchange for a car.
In April 2019, Nadine Menendez purchased a Mercedes-Benz convertible. She texted Bob Menendez: “Congratulations mon amour de la vie. We are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes.”
Bob Menendez, who refuses to resign from the Senate, faces an uphill battle for another term if he decides to seek one, according to poll data first obtained by HuffPost. The Democratic Senate primary in New Jersey is set for June 4.
The tentative trial date for the couple is May 6.
