The financial terms of a lawsuit filed against Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, the Municipality of Princeton and the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad for their involvement in a fatal crash in 2021 have been released.
The family of Jodi Marcou, who was killed in the crash, reached a settlement of $7.5 million, according to published reports on Princeton Patch. Not all of the money is coming from the mayor, the municipality and PFARS, however.
The Municipality of Princeton paid $3.5 million through its insurance fund, and Freda paid $2.3 million individually from his personal automobile insurance policies. PFARS paid $100,000, published reports said.
The stolen vehicle owner’s insurance company paid $100,000, and $1.25 million was paid through the Marcou family’s uninsured motorist coverage. The 15-year-old driver of the stolen vehicle did not have insurance. The owner of the stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee had left the key fob in the unlocked vehicle.
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.
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 the 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 was also 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 published reports on 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.
Freda was aware that police were investigating a report of an attempted auto theft on Clover Lane, and that the Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in the incident. It had been reported stolen from Warren County.
Freda got into his own vehicle and drove around the neighborhood in an effort to spot the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Land Rover Range Rover that had just been reported as stolen from a Dodds Lane home. He told investigators that he would have called the Princeton Police Department to report his findings.
Meanwhile, he saw the Jeep Grand Cherokee and followed it onto the Princeton-Kingston Road. He observed the stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee crash head-on into the Acura MDX driven by Jodi Marcou. Both drivers died at the scene.
