Last evening just before 9pm, Officer Matthew McAvoy was dispatched to the area of 978 River Avenue for a motor vehicle crash involving a school bus. Upon arrival he determined that a 2020 Dodge Challenger, driven by 22 year old Moshe Wasserman, was traveling south on River Avenue when he was cut off by a 2019 Ford Expedition. The driver, 37 year old Shulem Ekstein tried turning into the parking lot of 978 River Avenue when Wasserman struck the passenger side of his vehicle. After the two collided, the Dodge Challenger crossed over into the northbound lane of River Avenue and struck a school bus, operated by 38 year old Ira Itzkowitz head on. At the time of the accident, the bus was transporting several students, however, at the time of this release the exact number has not been confirmed. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured during the crash, however the operator of the Dodge Challenger did complain of ankle pain and was transported to a local hospital for further medical evaluation. The operator of the Ford Expedition received a summons or Careless Driving.
LAKEWOOD, NJ (OCEAN)–Just after 9:00 p.m. an accident was reported in the 900 Block of River Avenue/Route 9 south in front of Leisure Chateau Care & Rehabilitation Center, involving three vehicles with one being a school bus. There was one person transported by EMS to a local hospital. Lakewood Fire Department responded and applied oil absorbent for a fluid spill. Lakewood Police are investigating the crash.
EAST WINDSOR, NJ (MERCER)–East Windsor Police have charged a Trenton man that caused a serious crash the morning of September 20, 2021 that injured Allentown High School students that at least two are also on the soccer team for the high school.
According to police, in the course of the investigation, a Mercer County Superior Court Judge granted a search warrant to obtain blood from the driver of the truck. The blood was subsequently collected and analyzed. The toxicology report revealed that the driver’s blood alcohol content was above the legal limit. The investigation also revealed that the driver of the truck was at fault as his vehicle crossed the double yellow lines and entered the westbound lanes of travel. The driver was arrested, charged, and released pending court action.
Defendant:
Charges:
Hector Esteban-Palomo (41 Years of Age) Trenton, NJ
Assault by Auto – 4 Counts DUI
Reckless Driving Careless Driving
Failure to Maintain Lane
Open Container of Alcohol in a Motor Vehicle
All accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a Court of law.
EAST WINDSOR, NJ (MERCER)–According to East Windsor Police, on Monday, September 20, 2021, at approximately 7:00 a.m., East Windsor Police responded to Windsor-Perrineville Road and Cedarville Road for a report of a head-on motor vehicle collision involving multiple injuries. One of the vehicles was a sedan with four juvenile occupants; the other was a pickup truck with a sole occupant. Upon arrival, East Windsor Police, Robert Wood Johnson EMS, Capital Health Paramedics, East Windsor Rescue Squad # 1, East Windsor Rescue Squad #2, Robbinsville EMS, and Millstone Fire-EMS personnel immediately began administering first aid to several individuals. Millstone Township Fire Department, Hightstown Fire Company and East Windsor Fire Company responded and extricated a passenger from the sedan.
All four individuals in the sedan suffered serious injuries. The driver was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center by Millstone Township Fire Department EMS. The front passenger and a rear seat passenger were transported to the McKnight Elementary School by Robert Wood Johnson EMS and East Windsor Rescue Squad #1 and then transported by medevac to RWJ New Brunswick by NJ State Police Northstar Medical Helicopter and RWJBarnabas Health Helicopter. A third helicopter from Hackensack Meridian Health was not needed. The other rear seat passenger was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center by Robbinsville EMS. The driver of the pickup truck suffered minor injuries and was transported to RWJ New Brunswick by East Windsor Rescue Squad #2.
Police say, the preliminary investigation revealed that the sedan was traveling west on Windsor-Perrineville Road and the pickup truck was traveling east on Windsor-Perrineville Road. The vehicles collided, head-on, near the intersection of Cedarville Road. The East Windsor Township Police Department and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team are actively investigating the crash.
Vehicle Involved:
Driver:
2005 Toyota Tundra New Jersey Registration: C27EXU
Hector Esteban-Palomo (41 Years of Age) Trenton, NJ
Vehicle Involved:
Driver:
2019 Nissan Sentra New Jersey Registration: Z64NHX
Driver: Juvenile (17 Years of Age) Front seat passenger: Juvenile (16 Years of Age) East Windsor, NJ
Rear passengers: Juvenile (16 Years of Age) Juvenile (14 Years of Age) Millstone, NJ
Charges: None
Responding Agencies:
East Windsor Township Police Department, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Serious Collision Response Team, Capital Health Paramedics, East Windsor Rescue Squad #1, East Windsor Rescue Squad #2, Millstone EMS, Robert Wood Johnson EMS, East Windsor Fire Company 1 & 2, Robbinsville Township Fire Department & EMS, Millstone Township Fire Department, Hightstown Fire Company, NJ State Police Northstar Helicopter, RWJBarnabas Health Helicopter, Hackensack Meridian Health Helicopter.
Scenes from the morning of Monday September 20, 2021
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for attempting to interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder when he attempted to set fire to a police vehicle during a riot in Trenton, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Justin D. Spry, 22, of South Plainfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with one count of attempting to obstruct, impede, or interfere with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder affecting commerce. Judge Martinotti imposed the sentence by videoconference today.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On May 31, 2020, large-scale protests were held throughout the United States, including in Trenton, in response to the death of George Floyd. Although the May 31st protest in Trenton was peaceful earlier in the day, violence erupted later. A group of individuals proceeded down East State Street in downtown Trenton and began to riot, smashing store fronts, looting stores, and attacking multiple marked Trenton Police Department vehicles parked on the 100 Block of East State Street.
A Trenton street camera and other video footage taken by an individual present on the street captured Kadeem Dockery light an explosive device and throw it through the open front driver’s side window of a Trenton Police Department vehicle. Dockery then removed his shirt and handed it to Killian Melecio, who then attempted to stuff the shirt in the gas tank of the police vehicle and ignite it. Melecio was then assisted by Spry in attempting to set fire to the police vehicle. Law enforcement officers on scene arrested Spry, but Melecio and Dockery fled. Law enforcement later identified Melecio and Dockery through analysis of street camera and other video footage. They were arrested on Aug. 5, 2020.
Melecio pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2021, to his role and was sentenced June 28, 2021, to 28 months in prison. Dockery pleaded guilty on May 19, 2021, to his role and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 26, 2021.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Spry to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. She also thanked officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Director Steve Wilson; troopers of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and officers of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Michelle S. Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
On Sunday I attended a BLM protest in Trenton, NJ which was mostly peaceful until it wasn’t. I was beaten viciously by about 10 state troopers before they wrestled me to the ground and I can say with confidence that if I was black I probably would’ve been killed. This is not okay pic.twitter.com/96V0gk5NmH
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes today conducted a private meeting with Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and Trenton City Council President Kathy McBride to broker a solution that will temporarily solve a crisis involving the city’s emergency radio system for first responders.
At Mercer County’s Dempster Fire Academy, where the county’s 911 Central Communications Center is located, the mayor and council president agreed to Mr. Hughes’ offer to lend to Trenton 133 radios that the county has in its backup supply. By offering Trenton the use of the radios for up to six months, the mayor and council will have ample time to work through the city’s radio system problem and contract issues, Mr. Hughes said.
The county’s portable radios are compatible with the dispatch system, and the county already handles the emergency medical technician (EMT) dispatch for Trenton.
“This proposal is a win for everyone,” Mr. Hughes said, noting that Mayor and Council will have time to sensibly work together to conduct an open public bid for radios, award the bid and have new, state-of-the-art radios operational by the end of the year, and Mercer County will have helped to ensure that 911 dispatchers have immediate access to Trenton public safety personnel on compatible equipment and are able to keep the citizens safe.
Statement From Mayor Gusciora on His Thursday Meeting With Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and City Council President Kathy McBride on the City’s Emergency Communications System
On Thursday, I met with Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes and City Council President Kathy McBride to discuss the public-safety radio system for the City of Trenton.
Mr. Hughes agreed to temporarily loan our city approximately 130 handheld radios programmed to the county’s radio system. While Mercer County’s radio loan is not optimum, it helps carry the city over until a new system is in place. Mercer County’s assistance gives my administration time to work with Council President McBride to work in common cause on an agreement to replace the city’s aging radio system with equipment compatible with Mercer County’s emergency radio platform. This arrangement is the foundation of my permanent proposed solution.
I am very grateful to Council President McBride, who phoned me on Wednesday afternoon. She pledged for us to work together on this critical public safety issue for our residents and businesses.
Previously, a Resolution authorizing $4 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund to pay for a new radio and 911 systems did not make the docket. Council tabled a Resolution to pay the city’s current police and fire radio-system vendor, MPS Communications, for overdue invoices, an issue headed for litigation. The company will pull the plug on the city’s radio system on October 31, endangering residents and public safety personnel.
Nonetheless, I am very grateful to Mercer County Executive Hughes for meeting with us, his leadership, and his expeditious assistance. And, I wish to thank City Council President McBride for her goodwill and willingness to work together on a permanent solution.
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes, File Photo
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ (MIDDLESEX)–South Brunswick Police, Fire Departments and EMS responded to Broadway Road for an overturned dump truck at the curve around 9:00 a.m. Initially there was reported entrapment but the driver was able to self extricate. There were no injuries reported in the crash. The roadway was closed until the dump truck could up righted and towed away. South Brunswick Police are investigating.
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ (MIDDLESEX)–Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Michael Biennas of the Monroe Police Department announce a Township man has been charged in connection with the theft of election campaign signs.
On October 19, 2021, Timothy Eosso, 51, of Monroe was arrested and charged with one count of disorderly persons theft by unlawful taking.
An investigation by members of the Monroe Police Department determined that, on October 7, 2021, Eosso removed roadside campaign signs from the area of Applegarth Road.
The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Monroe Police Department at (732) 521-0222 x130.
As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Eosso are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ (MIDDLESEX)—According to police, at 12:41 p.m. yesterday October 20, a 2007 Lexus traveling south on Bentley Road was approaching an intersection with Route 33 West Bound. That vehicle was being driven by 81-year-old Monroe Township resident Murray Lipman and entered the intersection with Route 33 passing stop signs on Bentley Road. The vehicle was struck on the driver’s door by a vehicle being driven by 39-year-old Manalapan resident, that drive was transported by Monroe Township First Aid with non-life treating injuries. Murry Lipman the driver of the Lexus succumbed to injuries sustained in the accident. The crash investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Monroe Township Police Department.
EAST WINDSOR, NJ (MERCER)–Around 7:00 a.m. a vehicle traveling on Route 33/Mercer Street near Airport Road left the roadway and overturned. East Windsor Police, East Windsor Fire Company, Hightstown Engine Company and Robbinsville Fire Department responded to the scene for a vehicle on its roof and on fire. Upon arrival it was determined that the occupants were able to get out of the vehicle on their own and the vehicle was not on fire. Police closed Mercer Street between Airport Road and Hickory Corner Road and until the vehicle could be removed from the roadway. Robbinsville EMS responded to the scene as well as Hightstown and East Windsor EMS but no patients were transported to the hospital. The crash is being investigated by the East Windsor Police Department. No further details are available at this time.
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