TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal vehicle crash that occurred on December 10, 2023, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Two people, an adult male and female, sustained fatal injuries. Their identities are not being released at this time.

According to the preliminary investigation, patrol officers from the Elizabeth Police Department responded to a call, received at approximately 5:42 a.m. on December 10, reporting the sound of gunfire in the area of Fourth Avenue and Centre Street in Elizabeth. Responding officers briefly followed a vehicle of interest, which then collided with a taxi at the intersection of Grand Street and Routes 1 and 9. The taxi driver and sole passenger of the taxi were killed. Two of the three occupants of the other vehicle were arrested and later hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The third individual exited the car, left the scene on foot, and remains at large.

A 2019 law, P.L. 2019, c. 1, requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating potential criminal conduct pertaining to the fatal accident and events preceding it.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

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