Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced details related to an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit under the direction of Chief Carmen Martino and the Emerson Police Department.
On Wednesday, April 22, at approximately 8:40 p.m., the Emerson Police Department was alerted to a motor vehicle collision on Hasbrouck Avenue in Emerson. Emerson Police officers responded to the scene where they located a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder which had left the roadway and had come to final rest on its driver’s side in the side yard of a residence at 221 Hasbrouck Avenue.
At the scene, the responding officers found the driver, a 17-year-old female Emerson resident, and a 15-year-old male rear seat passenger, who had extricated themselves from the vehicle.
The front seat passenger, Stephanie Morgan,18, of Emerson, had been ejected from the vehicle and was found, suffering from serious head injuries, on the roadway in front of 221 Hasbrouck Avenue.
The driver was transported from the scene to Hackensack University Medical Center in Westwood for treatment and evaluation and the 15-year-old passenger was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack (HUMC) for evaluation.
Morgan was transported to the trauma center at HUMC.
At approximately 1:16 a.m., on Thursday, April 23, 2015, she was pronounced dead by the trauma center’s attending physician.
As a result of a cooperative investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and the Emerson Police Department it was determined that the driver was traveling north on Hasbrouck Avenue when control of the Nissan Pathfinder was lost in the area of Hasbrouck Avenue’s intersection with Chestnut Street.
The Pathfinder continued, in a yaw, traveling sideways along Hasbrouck Avenue until all directional control was lost and the SUV flipped. The SUV flipped numerous times, leaving the roadway and coming to rest on its driver’s side in the residence’s side yard.
As the vehicle flipped and left the roadway, Morgan was ejected.
This is an ongoing investigation. No charges have been filed as of this time.
Prosecutor Molinelli would like to thank the Emerson Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.
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