PATERSON — The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal accident involving two civilian motor vehicles that occurred on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, in Paterson, New Jersey. The driver of one of the vehicles, a gas-powered motorized scooter (or, “moped”), sustained fatal injuries. His identity is not being released at this time.

According to the preliminary investigation, Totowa police officers in marked patrol vehicles were following a motorized scooter, operated by a driver with a single passenger also aboard.  The incident began in Totowa and continued into the City of Paterson. There, in the area of McBride and Murray avenues, at approximately 7:19 p.m., the motorized scooter collided with a civilian vehicle. That collision caused the individuals on the motorized scooter to be ejected. The two men were transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where the driver of the motorized scooter was later pronounced deceased at approximately 2:06 a.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023. The other individuals involved in the collision sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

A 2019 law, P.L. 2019, c. 1, requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

###