Source: NJ.com
Jersey City Councilwoman-at-Large Amy DeGise didn’t stop after she struck a cyclist who ran a red light at a Jersey City intersection last week, closed-circuit television video footage made public by city officials reveals.
The 3-minute video shows the intersection of Forrest Street and Martin Luther King Drive at 8:00 AM on July 19. The stoplight is green, and turns red at the 45-second mark. At 58 seconds, it shows the cyclist victim, identified as Andrew Black, entering and riding through the intersection though the light is red.
At the 1-minute mark, the midsection of Black’s bicycle is seen being struck by the front passenger side of the black SUV driven by DeGise. Black flips headfirst over his bicycle and onto the ground. DeGise doesn’t appear to slow down as she drives through the intersection. Black is then seen rising and limping to the left-hand corner of Martin Luther King Drive as bystanders gather around to provide aid. His mangled bicycle ends up on the corner of the right-hand side of the street.
In an interview with HudPost.com, Black said that the light was green when he entered the intersection; he’d rolled over the hood after being struck; had suffered deep bruising; now has ongoing anxiety crossing streets; and has yet to receive the police report necessary to file an insurance claim so he can replace his bike and resume delivering for UberEats.
Despite having a green light, DeGise should have seen Black in the intersection as she approached it and yielded the right of way. An unnamed source has reportedly said DeDise had hit her head in the crash, and when she realized what happened, she reported it to police. Also, there is reportedly video of DeGise and a man entering a police station about six hours later.
DeGise was cited for failure to report an accident and for leaving the scene of an accident. It is likely that the case will be moved out of Jersey City and possibly even out of Hudson County entirely since her father, Tom DeGise, is the county executive.
Jan 24, 2023: In an Essex County courtroom, Amy DeGise pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident in exchange for the dropping of the charge of failure to report an accident, which could have resulted in a 180-day jail sentence. She was fined $5,000 and has lost her driver’s license for a year.