WOODBRIDGE — A 26-year-old man from Elizabeth died early Sunday after fleeing from a police-initiated traffic stop on a motorized scooter, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
The incident began at approximately 12:05 a.m. in Perth Amboy, when Lieutenant Jose M. Pais of the Perth Amboy Police Department attempted to stop three individuals riding motorized scooters near State Street and High Street.
Pais activated his vehicle’s lights and siren, prompting two of the scooter riders to flee the scene. The third, identified as Joseph E. Acevedo-Rodriguez, initially stopped but then accelerated away at a high speed.
According to the preliminary investigation, Lieutenant Pais pursued Acevedo-Rodriguez until the moped crossed into Woodbridge Township. Pais then turned off his lights and sirens, made a U-turn, and returned to Perth Amboy.
Shortly afterward, Woodbridge police responded to a 911 call about a crash on State Street between Arbor Street and Ferry Street. Officers arriving on the scene found Acevedo-Rodriguez lying in the roadway with his scooter located some distance away. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash occurred approximately a quarter mile from where Pais disengaged from the pursuit.
“The civilian who died in the encounter has been identified as Joseph E. Acevedo-Rodriguez, 26, of Elizabeth, New Jersey,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
The Attorney General’s Office is conducting the investigation in accordance with a 2019 state law requiring an independent probe when a death occurs during an interaction with law enforcement. The law also mandates presentation of the case to a grand jury.
No additional details have been released as the investigation remains ongoing.