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Edwin B. Coreas, the 30-year-old driver killed in the Thursday, March 6, Hasbrouck Heights crash, was named in a civil action filed in Bergen County Superior Court just days before his death, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice. Coreas also has 10 pages of violations in the New Jersey court system, many of which are traffic offenses.
The lawsuit, filed by a Hawthorne resident, accuses Coreas and Wescan LLC of negligence in a June 24, 2024, crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in Fort Lee.
The complaint, filed by attorney Mark McBratney of Seigel Law LLC, alleges that Coreas was driving as an agent of Wescan LLC when he carelessly and negligently operated and maintained his vehicle, leading to a collision with the plaintiff's car.
The lawsuit claims Coreas failed to make proper observations, improperly merged, and struck the plaintiff's vehicle, causing serious and permanent injuries, including economic loss and mental anguish.
The plaintiff is seeking $3 million in damages, court records show.
Days after the lawsuit was filed, Coreas was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on Route 17. Notably, the DOT number on the truck Coreas was driving at the time of the fatal crash — seen here in a photo ran by NorthJersey.com — is registered to Wescan LLC, the company named in the lawsuit, further linking the two incidents.
Photo at the scene.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella has not released a specific cause of the crash, and said only that Coreas was operating an Isuzu box truck that collided with another vehicle in the southbound lanes. The collision was followed by a chain-reaction crash involving two additional vehicles, resulting in a four-vehicle collision.
"Criminal charges are not expected, but the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision with the assistance of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit," Musella said.
Early Wednesday, March 5, a 25-year-old South Jersey woman was driving the wrong way when she struck another motorist on Route 17 in New York. Both the wrong-way driver, Sydnie Haines, and the driver of the other vehicle were killed. Records show that three days before that wreck, Haines had been cited for reckless driving in Southampton Township, NJ.
New Jersey court records indicate that Coreas had an extensive history of motor vehicle and municipal violations across multiple jurisdictions. His offenses span from reckless driving and failure to obey traffic signals to more serious charges such as leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest.
In North Bergen, Coreas was cited for careless driving likely to endanger a person or property, reckless driving, improper display of plates, failure to obey traffic signals, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, and failure to report an accident. These incidents occurred on Aug. 19, 2024, and were disposed on Oct. 22, 2024, recordsd show.
In Union City, Coreas faced charges on July 4, 2023, for failure to observe a traffic control device, improper passing, careless driving, and operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor or drugs. These charges were ultimately disposed on Oct. 7, 2024.
Court records also show that in Weehawken Township, Coreas was charged on Aug. 19, 2024, with reckless driving, traffic violations including improper backing and disregarding stop signs, and two counts of resisting arrest/eluding after an instruction to stop. The resisting arrest charges were later recalled, while the traffic-related offenses were disposed on Nov. 22, 2024.
Additionally, Coreas had prior citations in Elizabeth, Lodi, Watchung, and West New York, including failure to wear required equipment, delaying traffic, obstructing the passage of other vehicles, and unsafe vehicle operation.
His latest charges, recorded in Teaneck on March 1, 2025, include improper turn at a traffic control signal, driving while suspended, and failure to meet safety glass requirements. These cases remain active in the court system.
Wescan LLC, along with fictitiously named defendants John Doe 1-5 and ABC Co. 1-5, were also named in the lawsuit as potentially liable parties.
Daily Voice has reached out to both the plaintiff's attorney, Mark McBratney, for comment, and Wescan LLC. Neither of Daily Voice's requests have been returned as of press time.
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