TAPintoWestfield owner/editor Jackie Lieberman wrote an informative article about a tragic accident that has left Ashley Redding and her family devastated in the aftermath of such a life changing event. Tap on link to read coverage.
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/westfield/articles/westfield-woman-questions-why-cops-daughter-got
As a result of J. Lieberman’s article, many questions remain unanswered. According to the news piece, Lieberman wrote, “Redding was driving on Central Avenue when another car, driven by a minor with four other minors in the car......”
A copy of the official NJTR-1 New Jersey Police Crash Investigation Report obtained by TFoTM states that there were 6 occupants of the Ricerca vehicle that collided with victim Ashley Redding’s vehicle. The driver and 5 passengers, not 4 passengers as Lieberman’s story indicates. The vehicle that was driven by Westfield Police Captain John Ricerca’s daughter is a 2009 Nissan Murano.
A 2009 Nissan Murano has a total seating capacity of 5, with two front seats (for the driver and one passenger and a rear seat for 3 passengers. The Nissan Murano model has never been built with a third row for additional seating according to Nissan Murano specifications.
TFoTM spoke with Ashley Redding’s attorney Josh McMahon who stated, “Mountainside has also told my office the dismissal (tickets) happened on March 29th, but Foerst is quoted as saying April 5th, they (Mountainside court) won’t give us a specific date of dismissal.”
In response to Mountainside Prosecutor James Foerst’s claims that they waited for Ashley Redding to appear in court before summonses, that were eventually issued, were dismissed with “prosecutorial discretion”, McMahon stated, “We were never noticed about the April 5th (court) date, nor was the victim.”
The summonses dismissed in Mountainside Municipal Court are SC2018-4526, SC2018-4527, SC2018-4528, and SC2018-4529.
TFoTM has filed a records request with Mountainside and is also seeking court disposition records in Westfield municipal court.
A source not authorized to speak on behalf of the Union County Prosecutors Office has stated that the Internal Affairs investigation into Westfield Police and their non-issuance of motor vehicle violations is complete and that no wrong-doing was discovered on behalf of the responding officer’s.
What remains are questions that many are left asking.......Why weren’t any tickets issued at the accident scene? Why didn’t former Westfield Councilman James Foerst recuse himself from the case due to the ethical optics the case presented? Foerst admitted to knowing Westfield Captain John Ricerca in a professional capacity.
There were blatant motor vehicle violations obvious to the court including excessive number of passengers in the Ricerca motor vehicle in violation of a probationary drivers license as well as too many occupants based on the number of seatbelts available.
Jackie’s reporting is crap unless she is covering a fundraiser, dinner dance, store opening, or jazz night.
ReplyDeleteWe like to call it “advertising,” not reporting. She provides no proof of what Jim Foerst claims and then when caught is an “untruth,” she covers for Foerst by printing an update when Foerst’s comments are vetted.
DeleteHer investigative “advertising” is suspect.
Ricerca rode Wayman’s Wave of arrogance and now it’s catching up to him. What goes around comes around.
ReplyDeleteYou people need to focus on something else. Get a life! All you are doing is sowing the seeds of hate to make up for your own short comings.
ReplyDeleteThere are accidents everyday where the motorists aren’t issued tickets. Only reason this is a story is because the relationship to a westfield captain
ReplyDeleteNot every accident involves a driver on a probationary license driving with 5 passengers (all juveniles) in violation of NJ motor vehicle law, causes a major accident injuring an innocent person and walks away with no tickets. This is a story because the victims lawyer has notified the news about it and it comes at a time where some members of the WPD have been exposed for their corruption and coverups.
DeleteThere have been accidents with probationary drivers that have not received tickets. It’s up to the discretion of the officer if he issues those tickets. There would be public uproar if every motorist was issued a ticket for every accident.
DeleteWhere is your proof of that statement? I do agree that there would be uproar if every motorist was issued a ticket for every accident however, not every accident results in life changing injuries and forces a person/victim to seek public assistance paying bills and providing for their family. Remember, the driver was driving in violation of a probationary license that stipulates the number of people in the vehicle. In this case, the probationary driver had 5 passengers in a vehicle with only 4 passenger seats.....too many occupants regardless.
DeleteI’m going to assume you have handled accidents with the westfield police that involved injuries. Did you issue a ticket at every one of those? Probably not. Simply put, you have a vendetta against the police department. Remember every ticket issued has an impact on that person’s life. Especially a young driver.
DeleteI have an agenda and that is to rid the department of corrupt cops. One just resigned last week.
DeleteRemember, every driver that gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, can have an impact on a person’s life. Especially a young driver in violation of the law regarding the number of passengers allowed in the vehicle during a probationary period.
May I suggest you sit down with Mrs. Redding and see how she feels about your defense of the indefensible.
Yes because I’m sure that careless driving ticket or any other ticket issued will make her injuries go away. It’s up to the responding officer what or if any ticket is issued. If lawmakers want to change that then they can make it mandatory for certain tickets being issued. It was a traffic ticket, not a criminal offense. I’m not belittling the victims injury but at the end of the day it’s the officer’s decision, not yours.
DeleteUnfortunately, the young driver made a decision to break the law before driving down the road. I doubt she intended to drive carelessly, I doubt she intended to fail to signal a turn or cross over double yellow lines to enter the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteThe mere fact that the young driver intended to drive with not one, not two, not three or four passengers but five passengers, in violation of a probationary license, she knew she was breaking the law.
At the beginning of the day it was the young drivers decision to illegally ferry 5 other teenagers around.
I wonder if Officer Martinez or Sgt. O’Keefe felt any pressure not to issue a ticket because it was Captain Ricerca’s daughter and he showed up.
ReplyDeleteAnyone ever think of that?
A Patrolman should not have been required to fill out her report. The WPD has a policy regarding Patrolman taking crash reports of fellow Officers, namely a crash report has to be taken by a Supervisor or the Traffic Bureau (if on duty). While the daughter is not a "fellow Officer", the WPD policy needs to be updated to include immediate family members or anyone that would constitute a "conflict of interest".
ReplyDelete