"Jean stated he never saw a female, denied getting into a minor accident and stated his car "slipped." -Complaint
The Union County Prosecutor's Office charged a man with attempted murder after a video surfaced of the suspect allegedly running over a woman in Elizabeth Tuesday.
According to a police complaint obtained by RLS Media from the Union County Prosecutor's Office through the Open Public Records Act, Mr. Vicent Jean, 56, was charged with multiple offenses, including the most severe charge of 2C:5-1A Criminal Attempted Murder.
According to the probable cause complaint, the victim and the suspect were not acquainted and the incident stemmed from a minor car crash.
The complaint revealed the following information: at 8:35 a.m. Elizabeth Police officers responded to Salem Avenue & Aberdeen Road on a call of a female being run over by a car driven by a male.
The complaint said the car was a grey/silver Mitsubishi (NJ Reg. M13PJG), registered to defendant Mr. Vicent Jean. Officers arrived to find the unidentified victim on a front lawn suffering severe injuries. She was transported to University Hospital in critical condition.
Police said witnesses stated that Jean intentionally struck the victim following a minor motor vehicle accident between the defendant -in his car- and the victim in her Lexus. After the accident, Jean attempted to leave the scene and the victim attempted to take photos of his vehicle, the complaint noted.
Police said that Jean put his car in reverse, backed up and pointed his car at the victim, who was on the sidewalk. The woman then began running for safety onto a lawn while Jean drove forward over the grass, following her, directly striking her and running her completely over.
As she was on the ground, the complaint noted that Jean backed up over her and pulled approximately 10 feet from her onto the sidewalk.
"He then accelerated forward again directly at her and ran her completely over again. Jean then fled east on Aberdeen Road, nearly striking witnesses."
According to the probable cause complaint, a part of the Mitsubishi exhaust was left at the scene.
"At no point did Jean stop, render aid, call for help, or report either accident," the complaint said.
"The victim suffered a fractured spine, neck, femur, ribs, and a lacerated liver,"- Complaint.
During the incident, a witness recorded a video of the attack, which he provided to officers. License Plate Reader (LPR) analysis showed Jean's car at Parker Road and Westminster Avenue at 8:38 a.m.
At 10:39 a.m., the complaint noted that officers located Jean in his damaged car parked on Madison Avenue. He was detained and, after being given Miranda warnings, agreed to come to Elizabeth Police Department to be interviewed.
According to the complaint obtained by RLS Media, in the interview room, Jean read, understood, signed, and waived Miranda.
"He stated that he was the only person who operated his car and that he was the only one who had the keys to it. He admitted driving within Elizabeth since 8:10 a.m. (today) and said that he now lives in the 400 block of Westminster, which is a short distance from the incident," according to the complaint.
The complaint said Jean was shown a video of the incident and identified his vehicle in the video.
The witness who provided the video came to HQ and provided a statement confirming the facts and indicating that the Mitsubishi driver was an older, balding Haitian man listening to Haitian music in his car.
According to the complaint, the defendant is Haitian and the witness is also Haitian, but they were not acquainted.