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Pursued by Totowa police, the gas-powered scooter driven by David Lucero, 28, of Paterson was racing north on McBride Avenue along Pennington Park on Sept. 20, 2023 when the driver of an oncoming Lexus sedan made a left in front of him.
The moped slammed into the side of the vehicle, knocking both riders nearly 10 feet into the air over the car.
One of them landed in the middle of the street, the other outside a Conoco gas station (see black-and-white photo at top of story).
Both were taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where Lucero was pronounced dead less than six hours later. His passenger and the Lexus driver sustained less serious injuries, authorities said.
The clip showing the crash, captured by a neighborhood security camera, is part of a set of business and residential videos released on Monday night, Jan. 22, by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
Both state law and his own guidelines require Platkin's office to investigate any and all deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody."
This is done no matter what the circumstances are.
Investigators "previously met with representatives of Mr. Lucero’s family to review the recordings" before he released them, the attorney general said Monday night.
The most gruesome of the clips clearly shows the crash (NOTE: The clip must load completely before it can be viewed): Totowa -- Lucero -- 3rd Party Surveillance
All of the recordings can be found here: Totowa-Lucero - View
Platkin said Totowa Patrol Officer Damiano DiIorio had begun the pursuit early that evening on Totowa Road, near Bogert Street, and fellow officers quickly joined in.
“He’s going at a decent rate of speed,” DiIorio is heard saying in a radio clip that was also released.
“We’re all behind Damian,” another officer says.
Lucero quickly crossed the Hillery Street bridge over the Passaic River into Woodland Park. He then turned left and headed north on McBride.
Soon, at least three marked and two unmarked police vehicles were pursuing the speeding motorized scooter into Paterson with their lights and sirens on, the videos show.
The crash at Murray Avenue occurred a little less than two miles from where the pursuit began.
Guidelines set by the state attorney general's office require that investigations of such incidents are conducted “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," removing politics or personal agendas.
Once an investigation by the AG's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is complete, the results will be presented to a grand jury “in a neutral, objective manner, and with appropriate transparency,” Platkin has said.
The panel of civilians reviews evidence that includes interviews of witnesses, photographs, footage from body-worn and dashboard cameras, as well as from surveillance cameras and cellphones to determine whether or not there was cause to suspect any wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement.
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