By: Richard L. Smith
A New Jersey State Police detective has been convicted in connection with a deadly, high-speed pursuit that ended in the death of a 24-year-old motorcyclist from New York nearly three years ago.
Following an approximately week-long trial, NJSP Detective Mark Campagna, 47, of Mays Landing, was found guilty Thursday, May 14, of fourth-degree endangering another person for his role in the June 20, 2023 incident that unfolded along Route 206 in Springfield Township, Burlington County.
The conviction was handed down by a Camden County jury before Superior Court Judge Gwendolyn Blue, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division in Camden County.
According to the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), prosecutors argued that Campagna knowingly engaged in conduct that created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to Omar Kebbabi, 24, of Queens, New York, who was killed during the encounter.
Authorities said Campagna was off-duty at the time and operating an unmarked take-home State Police vehicle when he encountered Kebbabi riding a motorcycle on Route 206 several miles before the fatal crash site.
During testimony and evidence presented in court, prosecutors said Campagna followed Kebbabi at speeds that exceeded 100 miles per hour while maneuvering through multiple lane changes. Investigators said the detective never activated emergency lights or sirens and failed to notify law enforcement communications officials, which is required under the New Jersey Attorney General’s vehicular pursuit policy.
Campagna maintained during proceedings that he was not attempting to initiate a traffic stop, but instead intended to obtain the motorcycle’s license plate information.
The chase came to a tragic end shortly before 4:50 p.m. at the intersection of Route 206 and Jacksonville-Jobstown Road in Springfield Township, when Kebbabi collided with an unrelated civilian vehicle that was making a left turn across his lane of travel.
Officials said both Kebbabi and the civilian driver had green traffic signals at the time of the crash.
A Springfield police officer rendered medical aid at the scene, but Kebbabi was pronounced dead.
The civilian driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators said portions of the incident were captured on multiple commercial surveillance cameras, which were later used to estimate vehicle speeds during the fatal crash investigation.
The final moments of the encounter were also recorded by a municipal police officer’s mobile video recorder after the officer began following Campagna’s vehicle, unsure whether the driver was law enforcement.
Authorities announced that the mobile video footage is being publicly released under Attorney General guidelines established in 2019 aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in fatal police-related incidents.