Bergen prosecutor says an SUV driver ran a stop sign in Hackensack on July 29 and killed one of his assistants on a motorcycle

FATAL CRASH: A photo of Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Avon Morgan of Ridgewood and the scene of his fatal accident in Hackensack appeared online as part of Daily Voice coverage.

Death of Avon Morgan 'remains

an open police investigation'

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- News reports of the death of Avon Morgan, 38, contained few details about the July 29 collision of an SUV and the motorcycle ridden by the Assistant Bergen County prosecutor.

For example, the lead paragraph on NorthJersey.com said "the law enforcement community is mourning the loss" of Morgan, "who was remembered as a 'class act' who was always smiling."

Now, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella is blaming the SUV driver in Morgan's death:

Answering The Sasson Report's request under the Open Public Records Act for his office's completed investigation, the prosecutor said in his response:

"Your request pertains to a recent motor vehicle accident in which a motorcyclist [Morgan] was struck and killed by a vehicle that disregarded or failed to yield to a stop sign.

"The matter remains an open police investigation at this time," Musella said.

SUV DRIVER EXTRICATED: In photos that appeared on NorthJersey.com, above and below, investigators examine a Suzuki GSX motorcycle and a Toyota RAV4 after a collision on Essex Street and Railroad Avenue South in Hackensack on the afternoon of July 29. The time of the fatal accident was said to be 3:47 p.m.

SUV driver identified

The driver of the Toyota RAV 4 who allegedly "disregarded or failed to yield to a stop sign" was identified by Hackensack police as Juan DeJesus, 59, of Hackensack.

DeJesus had to be extricated from his vehicle. 

The SUV driver was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center and released after detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office executed a search warrant and obtained two vials of his blood, which were taken to Hackensack police headquarters.

DeJesus told police he was making a left turn from Railroad Avenue South onto Essex Street, but the police report ends in mid-sentence.