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The call of an armed break-in on Elmwood Avenue near MacArthur Avenue came in at 3:59 a.m. Monday, Aug. 14, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Tuesday.
"As officers were responding in marked police vehicles, one of the law enforcement vehicles was involved in a collision with a vehicle believed to be operated by a suspect from the reported incident," the attorney general said.
Witnesses said the fleeing BMW burst into flames after colliding with the police SUV off the corner of Florence and Joline avenues.
The male driver was seized and the female passenger rushed to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune with grave injuries, Platkin said.
The as-yet unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the hospital at 7:12 a.m., he said.
The driver was taken there in custody, the attorney general added.
The officer was treated at the same hospital before being released, he said.
Multiple police, fire and EMS units responded from, among other areas, Monmouth Beach, West Long Branch, Long Branch and Elberon.
Platkin's office is required by state law and his own office's guidelines to thoroughly investigate any and all civilian deaths that occur in encounters with police.
The guidelines guarantee that the investigation is done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," removing politics or personal agendas, the attorney general has said.
Part of the process involves releasing all 911 audio, police bodycam footage and video shot from surveillance cameras and/or cellphones to the family of the deceased -- and then the public -- as an investigation by his Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) continues.
Once the probe is completed, the results are presented to the grand jury “in a neutral, objective manner, and with appropriate transparency,” the attorney general has said.
The panel then renders a ruling on whether the incident was handled properly or criminal charges should be considered.
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