Franklin Lakes December 5, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Criminal charges dismissed in railroad crossing fatality by Frank J. McMahon A Superior Court judge has dismissed all criminal charges against the driver of a 1994 Jeep Cherokee that collided with a freight train locomotive at the Pulis Avenue railroad crossing in Franklin Lakes in January 2011. The accident resulted in the death of one of the three occupants of the vehicle. Jeffrey Cohen, a Hawthorne High School student who was 19 at the time of the accident, was charged with first degree vehicular homicide, assault by automobile, and driving while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance, in this case marijuana. The charges followed an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and the Franklin Lakes Police Department over several months after the accident, which occurred at 8:26 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2011. Cohen was also charged with careless driving, disregard of railroad crossing, and violating his probationary driver’s license in connection with the motor vehicle collision, which resulted in the death and bodily injury of passengers riding in his vehicle. Those charges will be heard in the borough’s municipal court, according to Matthew Priore, who is Cohen’s criminal defense attorney. Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvilaSilebi dismissed all the criminal charges against Cohen when an expert for the defense testified that, in a regular marijuana user like Cohen, the drug usually stays in the body for a few days after being consumed. As a result, the traces of the drug found in Cohen’s body after the accident may have been residual traces from an earlier consumption. The prosecution expert who found traces of marijuana in Cohen’s blood a few hours after the crash could not, therefore, say with certainty if Cohen was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the accident. Priore said Cohen’s family is extremely relieved that this ordeal is over, but they feel for the family of the young man who was killed. “It was a needless and tragic loss of life,” he said. Priore explained the issues leading to the dismissal of the criminal charges, saying the state’s forensic scientist who analyzed Cohen’s blood sample mistakenly relied on outdated studies from 1992 to conclude that Cohen must have smoked closer to the time of the accident, and should have relied on more recent studies that were authored by the same scientist who wrote the 1992 study. “It was disappointing that he did not take more time before he rushed to a conclusion,” Priore said. “Had he relied on the more recent study, it would have brought him to a different conclusion.” A divided Franklin Lakes Council will send a controversial rezoning ordinance to the borough’s planning board for review and recommendation. The council voted 3-1 to introduce the ordinance that would, if adopted, amend the zoning of a 3.2-acre residential lot at 724 Franklin Avenue near Shirley Avenue and across from Cherry Street, from its existing A-22.5 residential zone to the LB1 limited business zone in order to permit the construction of a residential style office building on the lot. The LB-1 zone permits business and professional offices, gift and antique shops, nurseries and greenhouses, and municipal buildings and uses. The lot currently contains a singlefamily house and garage and includes a 50 foot wide extension to Shirley Avenue. However, the rear of the lot, which backs up Controversial rezoning ordinance sent to planners to the Becton Dickinson & Company property, is impacted by wetlands. Councilmen Thomas Lambrix and Frank Pedone joined Councilman Charles Kahwaty in voting to introduce the ordinance and send it to the planning board for review, although both Lambrix and Pedone emphasized that they were not yet ready to approve the rezoning. Councilwoman Paulette Ramsey voted not to introduce the ordinance, and Councilwoman Nathalie Lota recused herself from the discussion because of a conflict of interest caused by a family professional relationship with the applicant. Councilman Joseph Kelly was absent from the meeting. Ramsey explained her opposition to the rezoning, saying she does not want to give up the residential nature of that area of Franklin Avenue where people want small (continued on page 10) Priore said he was able to demonstrate through all of the evidence that Cohen was definitely not under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance at the time of the accident. “There was not a single witness of all the people the prosecutor’s office interviewed who said anything other than he did not appear to be under the influence at the time of the accident,” Priore said, “including the trained EMT (emergency medical technician) who was at the scene first.” Priore said the state’s fatal accident investigation team also ruled out speed as a factor in the accident and the ideas that Cohen might have been talking on his cell phone, texting, or trying to beat the train. “Our theory from the beginning of the case,” Priore continued, “was that it was more likely the lack of safety gates at the intersection and driver inattention and inexperience.” He also noted that there were piles of snow in front of the railroad crossing signs at the time, which did not obscure the signs, but directed attention away from them. “It’s unimaginable in this day and age that there are still railroad crossings that don’t have safety gates,” Priore said. “What happened was he saw the train too late and tried to avoid the accident and skidded into the side of the train.” Priore said he understands that safety gates have been approved for this railroad crossing. He added, “We’re really hoping (continued on page 25) village school 3x5