finediony New Jersey news

Sunday, September 16, 2012

2 dead in East Brunswick car accident

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- A horrific crash killed a husband and wife as they left a synagogue in New Jersey.

It happened at Dunham's Corner Road and Hardenburg Lane in East Brunswick just before 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Members of the synagogue tell Eyewitness News that the victims had just left their Sabbath service and were walking with their 27-year-old son and another couple, when a car jumped the curb and crashed into them.

The husband's legs were severed, and the wife's body was tossed into the bushes.

Several neighbors claim the driver was speeding and trying to cut a right turn before the light turned red when the car jumped the curb - killing the victim's on the sidewalk and taking down a utility pole.

The victim's son and the second couple were taken to the hospital along with the driver.

The driver has not been charged.

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New Jersey Nets Season Preview For 09-10

Woman found in burning New Jersey home was murdered

Eyewitness NewsEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The death of an elderly woman whose body was found inside her burning northern New Jersey home this week has been ruled a homicide.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli says 70-year-old Barbara Vernieri was found shortly after police and firefighters arrived at her East Rutherford home around 12:30 p.m. Friday.

A cause of death was not immediately known, and Molinelli did not disclose further details. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday.

An East Rutherford official tells The Record (http://bit.ly/UczEF9) that a sliding screen door at the two-family home had been slashed and that Vernieri may have been stabbed.

The official also told the newspaper that the fire had been set in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

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Saturday, September 15, 2012

1 dead in helicopter crash in central New Jersey

The pilot of a small helicopter was killed when it crashed Saturday in a central New Jersey cornfield, authorities said. <br />

The pilot of a small helicopter was killed when it crashed Saturday in a central New Jersey cornfield, authorities said. (WABC Photo)

Eyewitness NewsWEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- A retired New York City police officer was killed Saturday when the small helicopter he was piloting crashed in a central New Jersey cornfield, authorities said.

Michael Scarfia, 65, of Staten Island, N.Y., was identified by West Windsor police as the pilot of the Aerospatiale AS355 twin-engine helicopter that went down shortly after noon in West Windsor. Scarfia apparently was the only person aboard.

The aircraft burst into flames upon impact, but no one on the ground was injured, authorities said.

"By diverting his failing helicopter into the cornfield and away from crowded shopping malls, he again showed his bravery and dedication to others," West Windsor police Lt. Robert Garofalo said in a news release.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Garofalo said several people reported that a flock of birds appeared to make contact with the helicopter shortly before it crashed. He said authorities still were investigating those reports Saturday evening.

"Eyewitnesses said they saw pieces of (the helicopter) coming apart, including the main rotor of the helicopter itself," Garofalo said during an earlier news conference held near the crash scene.

Several witnesses also reported hearing grinding noises and possible explosions shortly before the helicopter went down in the field near Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road in the Mercer County community.

Authorities said the pilot did not report any trouble or make any emergency transmissions.

It was not immediately clear where the helicopter was headed or where it had departed from.

Besides West Windsor police, the Federal Aviation Administration and New Jersey state police were also investigating the accident.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE OFTHE CRASH.

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Cruise From New Jersey

New details emerge in Pathmark shooting

BRUCE SHIPKOWSKITRENTON -- A New Jersey supermarket employee who gunned down two co-workers and then killed himself there last month did not argue with or speak to any colleagues before he initially left the store, according to new information disclosed Saturday afternoon.

Terence Tyler, a 23-year-old former Marine who had worked at the store as an overnight clerk for less than two weeks, was armed with an assault-style rifle and two other weapons when he returned to the Old Bridge Pathmark on Aug. 31. Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said Tyler legally obtained the weapons while in California, but the rifle - a WASR-10 Romanian, similar to an AK-47 assault weapon - was illegally modified.

Kaplan also said Tyler misrepresented certain details in applications to purchase the weapons, which he brought with him when he moved to New Jersey in June. Kaplan said the rifle Tyler had is illegal in New Jersey.

Specific details on the weapons were among several new pieces of information Kaplan made public. He said the decision to release additional details of the shooting came after authorities weighed the legitimate public interest against the privacy rights of the families of the two slain employees, 18-year-old Cristina LoBrutto and 24-year-old Bryan Breen, who both lived in Old Bridge.

Kaplan said Tyler left the store at 3:30 a.m. without talking to any of the 12 other employees in the store that night. He drove to his home in Old Bridge, changed into military-issue desert camouflage clothes and returned to the store about 30 minutes later.

Moments after arriving, Tyler left his vehicle and started firing the assault rifle as he headed toward the supermarket. He aimed at an employee who was standing outside the store but missed, and the employee ran inside to warn co-workers.

Tyler then entered the store and continued firing at employees, Kaplan said, but had no intended target and was firing randomly. He shot out the front of the store, shattering windows, and then fired at five co-workers. Tyler eventually killed himself, firing a single shot to his head with the .45-caliber handgun.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Breen died instantly, and LoBrutto died moments after being shot. Each died from a single gunshot wound.

Tyler was not wearing a bullet-proof vest when he opened fire, Kaplan said. The gunman fired 19 shots from the rifle, and police recovered 281 rounds of ammunition for the weapon.

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Newark deli clerk murdered during botched robbery

Web produced by Bill King, Eyewitness NewsNEWARK (WABC) -- A shooting during an apparent botched robbery at a grocery store left one man dead in Newark late Thursday night.

The clerk, described as a hard-working man who recently became a father, was help up at gunpoint and shot when he struggled with the thieves.

He was identified by those close to him as Jamil Bader, and he was killed while working inside the Family Grocery on Clinton Avenue around 10 p.m. It is a family business owned by the victim's father.

Police say he was confronted by three suspects who held up the store at gunpoint. Bader reportedly attempted to tackle one of the suspects when another came from behind and shot him in the back of the head.

Jamil's uncle was also in the store with customers and witnessed the horror unfold. Family members said Jamil was engaged to be married and had a 1-year-old daughter who was the light of his life.

Residents who live near the bodega were outraged.

"He works six days a week, 12 hours a day," one nearby resident said. "He wasn't your average...kid. He wasn't hanging in the street. He wasn't gang banging. He was working in the store with his father."

The suspects escaped in a dark-colored four-door vehicle. Police were looking for three men armed with a .40-caliber handgun.

It is believed they fled without any money.

A makeshift memorial has been set up at the scene.

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