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North Bergen police officer Jon Nunez stopped 24-year-old Luis Cevallos' Kia Stinger, with 27-year-old passenger Alexis Rodriguez, at 61st Street and Kennedy Boulevard for excessive speeding and reckless driving around 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, police said.
The footage of the stop and crash response was published to the Transparency Bodycam YouTube channel on Sept. 21, 2023. As of Wednesday, Sept. 27, it had 1.2 million views.
During the stop, a woman can be heard telling the officer that she saw Cevallos driving so fast he almost hit someone on a bicycle.
Nunez then goes on to explain to Cevallos that he stopped him for reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, and more. Nunez ticketed Cevallos for reckless driving, running a traffic light, and driving after hours (due to a provisional license).
Rodriguez can be heard telling the officer the two were on a first date, and that the stop was "her fault." Nunez explains that if they crash, it would not be her fault. It would be the driver's fault.
Less than 30 minutes later, Nunez responds to a crash on Routes 1&9 involving a sedan and a tractor trailer. It didn't take long for Nunez to realize it was Cevallos' car — the one he just pulled over.
"Yo, this is the same kid," Nunez can be heard saying as he runs to the vehicle (4:13 minute mark on the Drive Thru Tours video). "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh."
Both Cevallos, of North Arlington, and Rodriguez, of Bergenfield, died in the crash.
Click here for the complete video from Transparency Bodycam.
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