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Officer Lucas Brito and his colleagues were racing to a 911 call of an attempted home invasion by a masked man with a gun around 4 a.m. this past Aug. 14.
Brito’s cruiser collided near the corner of MacArthur and Elmwood avenues with a vehicle driven by the prime suspect in the burglary, Altonia Williams, 45, of Long Branch.
Williams bailed out of the BMW 328i and was instantly captured by officers who converged on the accident scene.
Two officers dragged a woman from the sedan onto a nearby lawn seconds before the car erupted in flames.
That woman, Tracee Blount, 38, of Long Branch, was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, where she was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.
Williams was taken to the medical center in custody. Brito also received medical attention there following the crash.
What exactly happened has been the focus of a review by Platkin’s office.
State law requires such examinations whenever a civilian dies in an encounter with police, no matter the circumstances. As part of the task, Platkin publicly released body and dash cam video of the incident after sharing it with Blount’s family.
There's no dashcam video of the collision.
The footage from Brito’s bodycam shows the steering wheel of his vehicle as he heads to the scene. Officers are heard obtaining information from a dispatcher.
Brito speeds to the area without conversation.
All of a sudden he shouts: “OH, SH*T, HE’s DRIVIN’!”
Then there’s a huge crash.
“I’m hit. I’m hit,” Brito radios in. “I’m in a car accident. I’m hit. I’m on McArthur Avenue. I need backup.”
Another officer had actually found Williams headed toward him on another street a short time earlier.
Both came to a brief stop next to one another.
“Pull over for a sec,” the officer tells Williams.
The officer calls it in and begins to make a K-turn. Williams keeps going, however.
The officer quickly loses sight of the BMW, then calls that in and begins cruising the area.
Seconds later, Brito’s call is heard.
“The car’s on fire. The car’s on fire. We got somebody inside,” he’s heard saying.
The officer picks up a colleague whose own car had broken down and was smoking for some reason. Together they race to the scene.
“Jesus Christ,” one says as they pull up.
“Holy f*ck,” says the other.
The BMW and Brito's SUV are on opposite sides of the street, both demolished.
Officers chase Williams onto a nearby lawn.
“Show me your hands! Show your f*ckin’ hands!” one shouts. Others bark similar commands, their guns trained on him.
Meanwhile, the officer who first came across Williams on another street tells his colleagues that Brito reported a woman sitting in the front passenger seat.
Two officers find Blount and quickly drag her onto the lawn. Within seconds the smoking BMW ignites.
The officer who first spotted Williams calls for medical help on a rush.
He then runs to a cruiser, grabs a medical bag and a fire extinguisher, then races back to the smoldering sedan. He hands the bag to another officer and begins to douse the flames.
The recordings from the incident can all be found here: Blount Recordings (NJ Attorney General)
Williams was charged with eluding, various weapons counts – including possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and pointing it at someone – and possession of a large-capacity magazine.
He has remained held in the Monmouth County Jail ever since, records show.
Blount, meanwhile, was remembered as fiercely loyal to her family, the “crazy aunt [they] could always call if they had a problem.”
Born and raised in Long Branch, Blount attended the local public high school and moved to Tinton Falls a few years ago. She majored in communications at Brookdale Community College and loved audio production.
Blount “always talked of moving to California to follow her dream after completing college,” according to her obituary.
She volunteered for children’s activities, and worked at various jobs, but “really enjoyed driving a cab, number 8,” the obit says. “Tracee was also an excellent player in pool and played on many teams with which she came home with numerous trophies.
“She carried her pool stick everywhere she went to get a couple games in wherever she ended up while going out. And yes, she won against many she played.
“Tracee was a true hustler. If she could make extra money, she was always coming up with ideas to do so and you can best believe she did!”
Platkin's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is assembling evidence from the crash to be presented to a grand jury for review. The panel will determine whether the officers’ actions were justified or if possible charges appear warranted.
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