to call off chase that
ended in rider
Kaye: Pursuit was over
when accident occurred
Officers had decided
to call off chase that
ended in rider’s death
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer
A motorcyclist who died as a result of his attempt to elude Howell police officers was no longer being pursued by the officers he was trying to get away from when he crashed his vehicle, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye.
Kaye told the Tri-Town News this week that his office has concluded its investigation into the death of Howell resident Nicholas Errico, 22, who died on Feb. 18 of the injuries he suffered on Feb. 13 after his motorcycle crashed into a vehicle belonging to Howell police Sgt. John Storrow.
According to Kaye, radio transmissions and video recordings of the entire five-minute pursuit proved that the Howell officers who were involved in the incident conducted themselves "from start to finish in accordance with law enforcement guidelines for these types of situations."
Kaye said Storrow, who was off-duty at the time his vehicle was struck by Errico’s motorcycle, had coincidentally just exited the parking lot of the Stewart’s root beer stand at the corner of Georgia Tavern Road and Route 9 north and was waiting to cross onto Route 9 when Errico hit his vehicle.
Kaye said it is believed that Errico’s motorcycle was traveling at about 90 mph when it struck Storrow’s vehicle, which was idling along with other cars that were waiting for a traffic light to change when the collision occurred.
The prosecutor said an earlier report from his office that Storrow was not aware of Errico’s attempt to elude officers at the time he was hit by Errico was incorrect. Kaye said Storrow was driving in his private vehicle which was not equipped with a police radio, but that he did have a portable radio with him per department regulations and had been listening to the situation as it developed.
Kaye said by the time Storrow exited the Stewart’s parking lot the pursuit had already been called off by the officers who were involved because Errico’s motorcycle had disappeared into the Freewood Acres section of Howell and that is a residential neighborhood where the police chose not to continue the pursuit.
Kaye said there are strict guidelines for a police pursuit of an individual. He said that since the officers — at that point — did not know who they were pursuing or why the person might be trying to get away, believed that continuing to pursue him in a residential neighborhood was not warranted under the known circumstances.
"He (Storrow) figured, OK, that’s it, all over, time to go home," the prosecutor said.
Kaye said a police pursuit of Errico began on Route 547 when he was spotted by a Howell officer operating his motorcycle in a reckless manner.
According to Kaye, before Errico was seen speeding on Route 547 by Howell police, he is known to have been observed by a New Jersey State Police officer to have been speeding on nearby Interstate 195 with two other motorcyclists.
Kaye said the state trooper saw one of the three motorcyclists do a wheelie on Interstate 195 and decided to pursue that driver. He said that motorcyclist exited Interstate 195 onto Route 547 with the state police officer in pursuit.
However, said Kaye, the trooper’s vehicle was caught in a bottleneck at the traffic light at the bottom of the exit ramp near Kelle Chevrolet, but the motorcyclist was able to maneuver around the cars and proceed north on Route 547.
Kaye said the trooper saw a Howell police car pull out after the motorcyclist and ended his involvement at that point.
The prosecutor observed that when Errico was first spotted on Route 547 and then on Oak Glen Road, officers could not know for certain that he was aware he was being directed to pull over.
However, said Kaye, there was no question on the officers’ part that by the time Errico got to Georgia Tavern Road he had been aware that police wanted him to pull over, well before he entered Freewood Acres.
According to Kaye, one officer was able to determine from the radio transmission of the pursuit that Errico would be passing him at any moment on Windeler Road. He said that officer activated his siren and flashing lights on his stopped vehicle, exited the vehicle and waved his arms to signal Errico to pull over.
Kaye said Errico had to have seen the officer but chose to ignore him and continue into Freewood Acres. He said the officer on Windeler Road was holding a radar gun and clocked Errico going by him at 97 mph.
According to the facts of the investigation, the pursuit lasted five minutes from start to finish, beginning on Route 547 and ending on Georgia Tavern Road with the crash of Errico’s motorcycle into Storrow’s car.