Sparta husband tried 'in vain' to give CPR to dying wife in fatal crash, lawsuit says
The husband of a Sparta woman tried "in vain" to perform CPR on his wife in the moments before she was declared dead after a crash in January caused by a purported drunk and speeding driver.
Eddie Moore was unaware his wife, Erin, was involved in the Jan. 30 collision when he got stuck in traffic on Route 181 with the couple's young children. First responders had yet to arrive, so Moore, an emergency medical technician like his wife, stepped out to help, leaving his daughters to wait in the car, he said in a lawsuit filed in Sussex County Superior Court on Thursday.
When he came upon the scene, Moore suffered "shock, anguish and terror" when he saw his wife's Hyundai Tucson totaled and her non-responsive body seat-belted behind the steering wheel, the complaint states.
With the assistance of a police officer, Eddie Moore said, he pulled his wife's body out of the vehicle, checked her vitals and performed CPR.
"(Eddie Moore) tried in vain to save (his wife's) life while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, checking her pupils, pulse and realizing that she was dying, if not dead," the lawsuit states.
Erin Moore, 41, never regained consciousness in her husband's arms and in the ambulance en route to the hospital, and, with her husband by her side, she was pronounced dead.
Attila Princz, 41, of Sparta, was charged with vehicular homicide and other motor vehicle violations including driving while intoxicated, having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle and reckless driving. A Sussex County judge released Princz from jail six days after his arrest, ordering he not drive or ingest alcohol and surrender his passport.
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Chapala Grill, BMW in suit
In the 16-page civil suit, Eddie Moore is seeking to hold accountable those whose actions he believes led to Princz getting drunk at a local restaurant before driving a BMW and causing the fatal crash. Prosecutors say Princz had a blood alcohol content of .26%, just over three times the legal limit of 0.08% for driving while intoxicated, when his car crossed over the southbound lane of the highway, also known as Woodport Road, and struck Moore's SUV head-on. Princz was also speeding, traveling 69 mph in a 35 mph zone when he rounded a curve three seconds before the crash, prosecutors said, citing expert reports.
Princz and his employer, BMW of North America, a Bergen County-based company where he works as a claims manager, is named in the suit because it is believed he was on-the-job and driving a company-owned vehicle. Chapala Grill, a Mexican restaurant in Lake Hopatcong where Princz had appetizers, lunch and sangrias for several hours, is also named in the suit as well as the Chavez family, who owns the restaurant, and any employees who served Princz.
Several media contacts at BMW of North America did not respond to requests for comment. An employee who answered the phone at Chapala Grill declined to comment, stating a reporter would have to come in person to speak to an owner. The reporter was then advised the owner was unavailable until Monday afternoon.
Attempts to contact Princz were unsuccessful. His criminal attorney, Charles Clark, did not respond to a request for comment.
During a court hearing in February, Princz's attorney refuted the amount of alcohol his client ingested at the Mexican restaurant: Servers reported he had seven drinks between 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., but his finacée told police he had three, court records show. Police also found a "to go" container of sangria in Princz's car.
Moore, in the lawsuit, criticizes the Mexican restaurant for serving Princz enough alcohol that it was believed they were aware he was "displaying behavior and physical symptoms consistent with intoxication." They allowed him to leave, disregarding the safety and well-being of Princz and other persons and neglecting New Jersey's law for negligently over-serving intoxicated persons or serving alcohol to minors.
Moore, who is seeking unspecified damages, said since his wife's death, he and the couple's children have experienced pain, suffering, emotional torment and anxiety, and intense fear. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Erin Moore had left her Sparta home around 5 p.m. the evening of the crash to head to work. Shortly after she left, her husband said he and the children went to run an errand and wanted to deliver something to their mother. Eddie Moore was able to see where his wife was via his cell phone and the trio drove in the direction of Route 181 until they hit sudden traffic.
The desperation in the moments before seeing his wife's vehicle, and his wife suffering, has caused emotional distress, mental anguish and psychological harm, Eddie Moore said in the suit.
Erin Moore worked as an EMT, paramedic and emergency room nurse in New York City throughout the COVID pandemic, according to her obituary. She eventually joined the labor and delivery team and was pursuing additional schooling with the goal of becoming a midwife.
Princz is expected back in criminal court at the end of the month.
Lori Comstock can also 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: Sparta NJ: Husband sues driver, restaurant for wife's death
