MAY 27, 2015
The taxi driver in the crash that killed John Nash and his wife won't likely face charges because Nash and his wife failed to wear their seatbelts.
New Jersey law does not hold the driver responsible if the rear-seat passenger isn't wearing a safety belt, unless the passenger is 18 or younger.
State Police revealed Sunday that Nobel Prize winner Nash, 86, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were not wearing their seatbelts as they rode in the back seat of the taxi.
The couple was ejected from the taxi as it traveled southbound in the left lane of the New Jersey Turnpike Saturday afternoon in Monroe Township when driver, Tarek Girgis lost control of his Ford Crown Victoria as he tried to pass a Chrysler in the center lane. The cab crashed into a guard rail near Interchange 8A.
Girgis, who was wearing his seat belt, was extricated from the car and flown to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick with non life-threatening injuries, police said.
The cabby in the New Jersey Turnpike crash had been on the
job only two weeks, after tooling around in an ice cream truck, the hack’s son
told The Post.
No charges have been filed in the accident as the State Police continue their investigation. When the investigation is completed, the evidence and reports will be turned over to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office for review.
If there's evidence Girgis was speeding, he could be charged with a more serious crime such as vehicular homicide. But he would have to be driving at exceptionally high speeds, experts say.
"Excessive speed would be double the posted speed limit for example," said Alan Zegas, a noted criminal defense attorney with offices in Chatham. "The circumstances are important. Was the speeding in a high traffic area with pedestrians or in an uninhabited area?"
"Each factor measuring conduct is important," the attorney said. "In all cases, prosecutors use their discretion to determine what charges, if any, would be brought."