The mayor of a North New Jersey town tried to help stop a crime but ended up committing one, a new lawsuit claims – by chasing a fleeing car that crashed that ended with two dead.
Elected the mayor of Princeton in 2020, Mark Freda, 66, jumped into action while behind seat of his SUV the afternoon of November 7, 2021, when he saw authorities were pursuing a Jeep that had been stolen by a pair of teens, the suit states.
A longtime member of the local emergency services squad, Freda, is also a first responder, and activated the blue emergency light on his vehicle and gave chase, the filing charges.
The ensuing series of events remains unclear – but it culminated with the fleeing car, commandeered 15-year-old Damajia Jenay ‘Majia’ Horner, crossing into oncoming traffic and killing another motorist. Horner, a teenage girl from Newark, also died.
The head-on collision left the driver of the other car, 61-year-old Rutgers administrator Jodi Marcou, dead at the scene. Her husband David Marcou now claims Freda, by activating his EMS lights and intervening, is partially responsible.
Elected Princeton’s mayor in 2020, Mark Freda, 66, allegedly jumped into action while behind seat of his SUV in November 2021, when he saw cops were pursuing a Jeep that had been stolen by a pair of teens. The car eventually crashed and killed and killed another motorist
The resulting, head-on collision killed 61-year-old Rutgers staffer Jodi Marcou. Her husband, David Marcou (at right), is claiming Freda, who is also a first-responder, is partially responsible
‘Freda had no formal authority in activating his blue lights and in conducting any form of pursuit or at speed chase of the vehicle Horner was operating ,’ a portion of the suit, amended to include Freda this past month, reads.
‘[Freda] was not authorized to conduct such light activation or any form of an speed chase or pursuit’, and ‘knew or reasonably should have known that by [activating the EMS lights], it would initiate, engage, cause and/or result in a dangerous result’
The mayor’s intervention, it states, constituted ‘a palpably unreasonable risk of serious or life-threatening injuries to the public and motorists.’
Now left in mourning with his two adult children, David is suing not only the mayor, but the the town and surviving members of Horner’s family, calling their actions careless, reckless, negligent, and in direct correlation with the death of Marcou.
The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as cash for things like attorney hospital fees, funeral costs, and costs associated with the mental health of the family.
So far, the the town of 30,000 erected a bench in Veterans Park in Marcou’s memory – a move made shortly after David first filed suit against Horner’s estate and several others in Middlesex County, including the city.
It was amended to include the allegation that Freda knew or should have known that activating his EMS device would lead to a ‘dangerous response’.
Not named is in the suit is the unidentified 14-year-old passenger who accompanied Horner for the ill-fated joyride, which began several miles away on Clover Lane. The teens took the vehicle, a Jeep, from a home in Pequannock.
The unnamed accomplice was reportedly critically injured but survived, while another teen who was allegedly part of the thieves’ party took part in the chase in another car stolen from Princeton’s Clover Lane.
Photos from the scene show not only the red SUV, but both of the totaled vehicles after they went off the road
The driver of the fleeing car, 15-year-old Damajia Jenay ‘Majia’ Horner, also died becasue of the crash. Her family is named as a defendant in the suit for not properly supervising the teen
David Marcou – seen here by a bench the city erected in his late wife’s memory – is suing Freda, the town, Horner’s family, and several others in Middlesex County, claiming Freda knew or should have known that activating his EMS device would lead to a ‘dangerous response.’
A 911 call from that residence is what sparked the chase, during which the Jeep sped throughout the affluent municipality in broad daylight while the other stolen car – a Range Rover – followed close behind.
Cops eventually gave up chasing the Range Rover after passed the Jeep, police said after the incident – leaving them to follow Horner and his unnamed, alleged accomplice. The Range Rover was later found in Newark, where both teens lived.
The chase at this point becomes somewhat shrouded – with it currently unclear how or even if cops continued to follow the vehicle being driven by Horner.
However, about 30 minutes later, a crash involving the Jeep and Marcou’s 2016 Acura occurred – on Route 27 (Princeton-Kingston Road) near Carnegie Drive. Somewhere between that span, Freda became involved.
Police, at the time, said the crash occurred after the Jeep crossed over the double yellow line and struck Marcou’s vehicle.
Photos from the scene show not only the red SUV, but both of the totaled vehicles after they went off the road – with Marcou’s car seen standing nearly straight up.
Marcou was a longtime employee at Rutgers University, where she worked as a Development Specialist
lawyer on Wednesday said he could not comment on the details of the lawsuit, but that their investigation had shown Freda had ‘significant involvement in the matter.’
A longtime employee at Rutgers, Marcou worked as a Development Specialist at the university for more than two decades.
According to her obituary, she loved to meditate, play cards and Mahjong, and her favorite activities included hiking with her husband – whose lawyer on Wednesday said he could not comment on the details of the lawsuit, but that their investigation had shown Freda had ‘significant involvement in the matter.’
The attorney, Nicholas J. Leonardis, offered the comment to NJ.com – more than a year after Princeton police made an arrest in relation to the case
Made in May 2022, the arrest saw then-19-year-old Elhajjmalik Diallo, also of Newark, charged with hiring the teens to steal the Jeep, and sentenced to thee years in prison for that offense and several others in four other New Jersey counties.
He is eligible for parole in September 2024, and is also named in the suit filed by Marcou’s widowers.
Also named is Horner’s mother, Jennifer, who is said to have not properlly supervised her daughter, leading her to consort with people like Diallo to commit with crimes like car theft.
Freda’s office did not immediately respond to a Saturday request for comment.