A lawsuit filed against Mayor Mark Freda, the Municipality of Princeton and the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, based on a fatal crash that occurred in 2021, has been settled.
The lawsuit, which was initially filed in June 2022, was settled on Aug. 17 in Mercer County Superior Court. A petition for dismissal of the case was filed on Aug. 28, according to published reports on Walkable Princeton. It was dismissed with prejudice, which means the lawsuit has ended and cannot be filed again later.
The lawsuit was triggered by a crash that killed a teenager who was driving a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee and also killed the driver of an Acura MDX that was struck head-on by Jeep on the Princeton-Kingston Road/Route 27 on Nov. 7, 2021. It was filed by David Marcou, whose wife was driving the Acura MDX.
The initial lawsuit was amended in August 2023 to include Freda, the Municipality of Princeton and PFARS. They were brought into the lawsuit by the Hanover Insurance Group, which refused to honor automobile insurance policy claims filed by Marcou.
The town and PFARS were added as additional defendants because Freda is the mayor of the town and also was the president and a member of PFARS in November 2021. PFARS is supported by the community and is not associated with the town.
Marcou’s attorney claimed that Freda contributed to the crash by chasing the stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to Walkable Princeton. He was driving his own vehicle, which was equipped with an emergency blue light used by volunteers with PFARS and the Princeton Fire Department. He is a volunteer with both groups.
The amended lawsuit stated that Freda “either individually or within the course of his employment as mayor, and/or as president/member of PFARS did engage as a township or public official or emergency responder, activating the blue warning light on his vehicle and knew or reasonably should have known that by doing so, it would initiate, engage, cause and/or result in a dangerous response and create a palpably unreasonable risk of serious or life-threatening injuries to the public and motorists legally traveling on the roadway.”
Freda did not have formal authority and was not authorized to activate his emergency blue light and to conduct any form of pursuit or at-speed chase of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to the amended lawsuit.
Emergency blue lights may be used by a volunteer member of a first aid or rescue squad or a fire department while they are responding to a fire or emergency call. Permits for emergency blue lights are handled by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, with local approval requirements.
The chain of events that led to the fatal crash began when police were called to a Clover Lane home to investigate an attempted motor vehicle theft. The victim told police that the would-be thieves were riding in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was later discovered to have been stolen from Warren County.
While the police officer was investigating the attempted car theft on Clover Lane, he saw the Jeep Grand Cherokee being followed by a Land Rover Range Rover that had just been reported stolen from a Dodds Lane home.
The police officer followed the Range Rover on Clover Lane, while the Jeep Grand Cherokee drove off in a different direction. He tried to stop the Range Rover, but called off the pursuit because of safety concerns.
Meanwhile, Freda had been called to a Clover Lane home by the homeowner in reference to the attempted theft of their vehicle. Freda said he saw the police officer following the Range Rover and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to a Nov. 8, 2021 report prepared by a Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office detective. The MCPO assisted in the crash investigation.
He got into his own vehicle and drove through the neighborhood in an effort to spot the two stolen vehicles. He told the investigator that he would have called the Princeton Police Department to report his findings.
Freda saw both vehicles on Snowden Lane, but lost sight of the Range Rover. He followed the Jeep Grand Cherokee on Snowden Lane and watched as it drove around several cars that were stopped at the intersection of Snowden Lane and Princeton-Kingston Road.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee turned left onto Princeton-Kingston Road. Freda drove around the stopped cars at the intersection and followed the Jeep Grand Cherokee. There were several cars between his vehicle and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Freda told the investigator that he observed the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, begin to swerve left and right on Princeton-Kingston Road. He saw the Jeep Grand Cherokee crash head-on into the Acura MDX, according to the MCPO report.
Freda called 911 to report the crash. He positioned his vehicle across the roadway to block traffic from entering the crash scene. He told the MCPO investigator that he also activated his emergency blue lights, which he is permitted to use as a member of PFARS.
In a supplemental statement provided to the MCPO on Nov. 23, 2012, Freda said through his attorney that he may have activated his emergency blue lights at some point while he was driving on Snowden Lane as he following the Jeep Grand Cherokee – prior to turning on to Princeton-Kingston Road.
According to the Daily Princetonian, Freda was disciplined by PFARS. It found that he had made improper use of the emergency blue light and was reportedly suspended for 30 days. He was required to turn in the blue light.
