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The on-duty officer's car T-boned the civilian vehicle outside the ShopRite of Franklin shopping center on Route 23 at Walsh Road, according to witnesses, shortly after 10:30 a.m. May 27.
Deanna D’Arco was rushed to Morristown Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Her organs were donated through the New Jersey Sharing Network.
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GoFundMe verified a fundraiser to help support D'Arco's family cover funeral expenses and "take the time they need to grieve and get back on their feet," as organizer Taylor Henderson wrote.
GO TO: Deanna D’Arco
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"The male driver of the civilian vehicle was treated and released," said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, whose office is investigating the circumstances. "The involved officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries."
Some witnesses said the civilian vehicle pulled into the officer's lane. Some said the officer was speeding without lights or siren.
It's Platkin's responsibility to get to the truth.
State law and his own guidelines require the attorney general to review 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," no matter what the circumstances are, the attorney general has said.
The guidelines guarantee that the investigation is done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," removing politics or personal agendas, he said.
Members of the AG's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) have been conducting witness interviews, collecting area surveillance video and inspecting the vehicles involved, among other measures.
All of the evidence collected will at some point be presented to a state grand jury in Trenton in a "neutral, objective manner, and with appropriate transparency,” the attorney general said.
After hearing testimony and reviewing the evidence, the grand jurors will determine whether or not charges should be filed.
"The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time," Platkin said Friday, May 31.
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