The man was transported to a hospital Thursday night, where he died.

The man was transported to a hospital Thursday night, where he died, officials said. (File photo)
 

MONTCLAIR -- A 48-year-old township man was struck and killed by a car Thursday evening, authorities announced Friday.

Jamie Vuignier was hit by a car in the area of Hawthorne Place and Elm Street in Montclair at about 7 p.m. Thursday, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Montclair Police Chief David Sabagh announced in a release. He was transported to Mountainside Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m., they said.

The incident is under investigation, authorities said. The driver remained at the scene of the crash and no charges have been filed against her, officials said.

No other information was immediately available.

This marks the second such incident in the area in the past month. On Oct. 12, a 69-year-old Montclair man died after being struck by a vehicle while crossing Broad Street in Bloomfield, authorities said. 

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Police say the man went to the mall to attack his ex-girlfriend.

UPDATE: Cops say suspect arrested after found hiding in closet

JERSEY CITY -- Police are on the lookout for a man accused of attacking two people with an ax at Newport Centre mall last night.

Police say Nelson Lizardi-Moreno, 24, from Newark, went to the Downtown Jersey City mall at about 9 p.m. to attack his ex-girlfriend at the store where she works, attempting to gain entry through the store's back door.

Lizardi-Moreno turned his anger on the woman's boss when she refused to allow him to enter, leaving the 30-year-old Elizabeth woman with severe head injuries, cops say.

A 23-year-old Carteret man who also works at the store wrestled the ax from the assailant, sustaining injuries that are not considered severe, police said.

Both victims were sent to Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health. The woman is in guarded condition -- between critical and stable -- while the Carteret man is in stable condition, JCMC spokesman Mark Rabson said. 

Lizardi-Moreno's name was initially withheld because the incident is considered domestic in nature, according to city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.

Lizardi-Moreno fled the scene and police are "actively pursuing him," Morrill said.

Warrants have been issued for his arrest, as well as restraining orders, she said.

A mall spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.

 

U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty denied the motion of Officers Charles Matos and Roger Harris to dismiss the claims they are to blame for the death of 19-year-old Jason Lowther

NEWARK -- Two Newark police officers have lost their motion to dismiss claims against them in a federal lawsuit over the 2012 suicide of an inmate at the city jail.

In a Nov. 6 decision, U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty denied the motion of Officers Charles Matos and Roger Harris to dismiss the claims they are to blame for the death of 19-year-old Jason Lowther, who hung himself with his shirt on May 5, 2012 in his cell at the city's holding facility on Green Street.

The motion centers on the timing of when the two officers were added as defendants in the lawsuit being pursed by Lowther's estate, which also is suing Newark, the city's police department and other police personnel.

The first complaint in the case was filed in October 2013, falling within the two-year statute of limitations to file the lawsuit. Matos and Harris were not identified by name in that complaint, but instead the complaint referred to "John/Jane Doe Newark Police Officers "A" through "Z."

The court rule governing such fictitious party names allows plaintiffs to later amend a complaint with defendants' true names after their identities become known.

After learning in April 2014 about the potential involvement of Matos and Harris, Lowther's estate sought approval from another judge in September 2014 to amend the complaint to add their names and the name of another defendant, court documents state. The estate ultimately received that approval and filed the amended complaint in December 2014.

In their motion, Matos and Harris argued the claims against them should be dismissed, because they were filed after the applicable statute of limitations had expired.

The officers also claimed the fictitious party rule should not apply, because the estate did not perform due diligence to determine the officers' identities before and after filing the original complaint, court documents state.

But McNulty rejected the officers' arguments, finding that the estate had exercised due diligence and that the allegations against the officers relate back to the date of the original complaint.

The judge noted how the estate obtained arrest and incident reports, and retained a private investigator, but was not able to learn about the two officers' potential involvement in Lowther's suicide until receiving additional evidence from the city in April 2014.

Although the estate did not file a motion to amend the complaint until September 2014, McNulty still found it acted with due diligence.

"True, there was a five-month delay between the discovery and the motion to amend," McNulty wrote in his decision. "Nevertheless, I find that Plaintiffs made a diligent, good faith effort, and I am also mindful that the fictitious party practice rule is to be construed to do substantial justice.

"The five-month gap is not enough to convince me that Plaintiffs did not act with due diligence."

MORE: Newark faces lawsuits over inmate suicides at city jail as federal probe raises concerns

The amended complaint alleges Matos and Harris were among the officers in charge of supervising Lowther and other inmates at the time of his suicide. The complaint claims Lowther told Matos, Harris and other officers he was having suicidal thoughts and feelings.

The complaint also asserts the officers were aware Lowther had made an earlier attempt to commit suicide while in custody that day, and that they failed to prevent him from making any further attempts.

Lowther had been arrested for marijuana possession and trespassing, according to Gerald Krovatin, the attorney representing Lowther's estate in the lawsuit.

Lowther's death represents one of three suicides at the Green Street jail since 2010.

About 18 months before Lowther's suicide, Tyron Benson, 31, hung himself with his belt on Nov. 25, 2010 in his cell at the facility, court documents state. The mother of Benson's children also is pursuing a lawsuit against the city in regard to his death.

The most recent suicide at the facility occurred in April, when 54-year-old Raymond Hyman hung himself with a piece of his own clothing at the cell block.

Hyman's suicide occurred less than a year after the U.S. Justice Department raised concerns in a July 2014 report that the Green Street facility constituted a significant suicide risk for detainees.

Those findings stemmed from a three-year federal investigation into the Newark Police Department, which also found constitutional violations in pedestrian stops and the use of excessive force.

In regard to the suicide risk at the Green Street jail, federal officials cited the physical layout of the Green Street facility, the lack of training provided to officers assigned there, and a history of officers not following policy for handling suicidal detainees.

The federal report noted how the exposed cross bars in the cells represent "suicide hazards" and there are "only limited lines of sight into the cells."

But Newark officials have said they are taking steps to address suicide risks and other issues at the facility, including by adding closed-circuit televisions to the jail, and assigning more officers there to perform general housekeeping tasks and supervise detainees.

The police department also has provided new training to officers to help recognize potentially suicidal prisoners, and the city has been planning to renovate the jail, officials said.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

In October, a mistrial was declared when jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision in the case.

SOMERVILLE -- The prosecution has decided to proceed with a retrial for a massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting a female client during a massage in 2013.

Massage therapist Raude Guerrier, of Orange is accused of sexually assaulting a female client. (Photo by Dave Hutchinson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Raude Guerrier, 36, of Orange, will be re-tried on a charge of second-degree sexual assault. He's facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

In October, Superior Court Judge Julie M. Marino declared a mistrial when jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision after deliberating for more than five hours over two days in Somerset County.

Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Holly informed the judge of the state's intention to re-try the case during a status conference on Friday.

"It's what we expected," said public defender Mark Imbriani.

The two sides will return to court on Dec. 18.

RELATED: Mistrial: Jurors can't decide if massage therapist sexually assaulted client

At around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2013, Warren police responded to the Massage Envy on Mount Bethel Road for a report of a patron who said she was touched inappropriately during a massage, authorities said.

The woman told police that during a full-body massage Guerrier touched her vagina, authorities said.

During the first trial, Guerrier testified that he "misread" his customer's body language. He said the customer smiled, scratched the bottom of his hand and spread her legs apart at her feet.

Guerrier said he "got carried away" and put his finger inside the customer's vagina. The defense contended that the sex act was consensual.

According to testimony, when the customer asked if that was part of the massage, Guerrier removed his finger. The customer, however, remained on the table and continued receiving the massage, according to testimony.

Afterwards, Guerrier apologized to the patron, according to testimony. When police arrived, he acknowledged what had occurred, according to testimony.

Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Authorities have identified the man found dead inside a Elm Street home Thursday evening as a 64-year-old Newark man.

NEWARK -- Authorities have identified the man found dead inside an Elm Street home Thursday as a 64-year-old Newark man. 

Police discovered the body of Charles Jeffrey Thursday evening, after investigators were called a residence in the 300 block of Elm Street in the Ironbound district, said Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter. Jeffrey was pronounced dead at 7:46 pm, she added.

Department investigators could be seen late Thursday canvassing in the rain at the scene of the killing, a residential stretch of Elm Street lined by single-family homes.

The exact cause of Jeffrey's death is undetermined pending an autopsy, Carter said. But investigators at the scene reported that Jeffrey appeared to have suffered body trauma, she confirmed.

An investigation into Jeffrey's death by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force is ongoing, Carter said. No arrests have been made, she added.

Additional details of the investigation were not immediately made available.

This marks the second homicide in as many days in the city. Wednesday, an East Orange man was found shot to death inside his car in the city's Central Ward.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The crash claimed the life of a Tinton Falls Board of Education trustee, officials said.

The crash claimed the life of a Tinton Falls Board of Education trustee, officials said. (File photo)
 

IRVINGTON -- Authorities are investigating whether or not alcohol played a role in the one-car crash on the Garden State Parkway that caused the death of a Tinton Falls Board of Education member, officials said Friday afternoon.

State Police said Friday that Crystal Simmons, 43, of Orange, is being investigated for a possible DWI in connection with the Nov. 7 crash in Irvington, reversing earlier reports that she had already been charged. Simmons was behind the wheel of the 1:18 a.m. crash that seriously injured her and passenger Heather Brown, 35, of Shrewsbury, authorities said.

After the crash, Brown was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where she was pronounced dead on Nov. 12, police said.

Simmons has been charged with assault by auto, and additional charges are pending an ongoing investigation, state police said Friday.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Attorneys for the four men questioned how Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin has instructed the lawyers to present their arguments about motions in writing and not through oral arguments in the courtroom Watch video

NEWARK -- Attorneys for the four men charged in a fatal carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills on Friday challenged whether a judge was treating their clients fairly, because he has instructed the lawyers to present their arguments about motions in writing and not through oral arguments in the courtroom.

One attorney said that practice has led the four defendants -- Basim Henry, Hanif Thompson, Karif Ford and Kevin Roberts -- to question the lawyers' representation, because the men have been unable to see the attorneys advocate on their behalf in open court.

"They think we're not doing anything on their behalf and they're getting very angry because they think that we are not doing what we're supposed to be doing," Albert Kapin, the attorney representing Roberts, told Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin during Friday's hearing.

The judge immediately sought to reassure the defendants, telling them the attorneys are "doing everything they can for you."

But Henry then interjected: "It doesn't seem like it."

"I just want a fair trial, your honor," Henry added.

Henry, 34, of South Orange, Thompson, 30, of Irvington, and Ford, 33, and Roberts, 37, both of Newark, are each facing murder, felony murder, carjacking and weapons charges in connection with the Dec. 15, 2013 fatal shooting of 30-year-old Hoboken attorney Dustin Friedland at the upscale mall in Millburn.

Friedland's widow, Jamie Schare Friedland, is pursuing a lawsuit against the mall's owners and other defendants in regard to her husband's killing.

Throughout Friday's hearing, Friedland's mother, Rose Friedland, sat beside her husband, Wayne, and held up a photo of her son from the second row of the courtroom.

The attorneys addressed the fairness of the court proceedings during a discussion about defense motions filed in the case. Ravin said on Friday he had issued written decisions on various motions.

Dustin Friedland and his wife, Jamie Schare Friedland. She is pursuing a lawsuit over the Dec. 15, 2013 fatal shooting of her husband at The Mall at Short Hills. (Facebook)Facebook

Henry's attorney, Dennis Cleary, initially raised the issue, saying his client has a "genuine concern" about receiving a fair trial, because Ravin has refused to grant oral arguments. Cleary expressed a similar concern during a July 27 hearing.

But Ravin stressed that the court rules do not require oral argument in criminal cases.

Saying the attorneys were "very skilled, wonderful writers," the judge said the written submissions were better, because "the court can then deliberate and ruminate on the very well-written legal products."

If Ravin has any particular concerns or questions after reviewing those written submissions, the judge said he can then seek additional written submissions from the attorneys.

Ravin later added: "Whoever wants a fair trial, they're in the right place."

Kapin said he had never seen a judge refuse to grant oral arguments in criminal matters until this case, but Ravin said he considers requests for oral arguments on a case-by-case basis and has no blanket policy prohibiting oral arguments.

Thompson's attorney, Jennifer Sellitti, added that, without oral arguments, the defendants are "not really understanding what's going on."

The defendants have been unable to hear the defense attorneys and prosecutors go back and forth with their arguments, and "they're not hearing the court's reaction to what's going on," Sellitti said.

MORE: Short Hills mall carjacking defendants lose bid to remove judge over bias claims

The concerns raised by the attorneys on Friday marked the second time in recent months that they have questioned Ravin's fairness in the case.

Earlier this year, the defendants joined in a motion to recuse Ravin, because he had previously approved numerous warrants in the case.

According to the judge's July 27 written decision to deny that motion, the defendants claimed "this Court must recuse itself to ensure that they are treated fairly and without bias and to avoid the appearance of impropriety."

But Ravin wrote in his decision that "recusal is not warranted because 'a reasonable, fully informed person' would not have doubts about this Court's impartiality."

"Search warrants may only be issued by a neutral judicial officer, and there is nothing to suggest that this Court was not neutral at the time of the warrant applications or to suggest that this Court does not remain neutral as the case moves into the pretrial and trial stages," the decision states.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Authorities to investigate after fleeing car theft suspect injured during police pursuit.

NEWARK -- City police arrested two juvenile male suspects early Friday morning following a police pursuit that left one injured, authorities said. 

An investigation of the pursuit by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Professional Standards Bureau is ongoing, said department spokeswoman Katherine Carter. State law requires that any police pursuit resulting in an injury must be investigated the local prosecutor's office.

The exact circumstances of the incident, including where and when it began, were not immediately made clear. But the pursuit ended at approximately 4 a.m. when, while attempting to flee from police, the suspects crashed an allegedly stolen car near the intersection of South Orange Avenue and 8th Street, Carter said.

Both suspects--whose names have not been disclosed due to their juvenile status--were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, Carter said.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/09/3-year-old_struck_killed_during_newark_police_chas.html

Following the crash, one of the suspects was taken to the hospital with serious injuries to his arm, Carter said.  

No other information is available at this time, Carter said.

Officials with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office earlier this year initiated investigations into three previous pursuits by Newark police.

In September, a 22-year-old Newark man allegedly struck and killed a 3-year-old child while attempting to flee from police custody.

On Aug. 27, a 79-year-old woman walking her dog was seriously injured when a car being pursued by Newark police hit her. And on Sept. 1, a teenage carjacking suspect was struck and killed by one of the police cars in the midst of a pursuit.

Statistics obtained by NJ Advance Media indicate that pursuits involving Newark Police Department officers have dropped sharply since 2013.

The figures also indicate a recent county-wide decrease in the total number of suspect pursuits that have resulted in serious injury or death.

Investigations by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office of police-involved pursuits are based on guidelines set by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office that address how and under what circumstances police pursuits are conducted.

The department conducted 31 such investigations in 2013, according to the figures. In 2014, the total dropped to 21. None of the crashes investigated involved a fatality, authorities said.

Speaks to Montclair State students about athletes' vulnerability to pain killers

Ray Lucas played for eight years in the NFL.

Donny Allieri played four years of high school football.

Ray Lucas has had 19 surgeries and 19 concussions, and has plates and screws in his back, neck and knees.

Donny Allieri had one injury, a torn thumb ligament.

But both ended up in the same place: addicted to prescription pain killers. Then, Donny Allieri got worse. He took the path from painkillers to heroin.

On Thursday morning, Ray Lucas was guest lecturer for a class called "Social Problems in Sports" at Montclair State University. One of the students in the class is his daughter, Rayven, who lived the story her dad was telling.

Donny Allieri was home in Boonton Township, hoping one day to do what Lucas does: Tell his story as a cautionary tale and hope to God someone, even just one someone, listens.

Both of their narratives are typical addict stories. No, check that. They are both typical stories of addiction, because both point out there is no such thing as a typical addict.

"You don't picture a professional athlete being an addict," Lucas, 43, told the class. "You think of an addict as some bum on the street."

Both Lucas and Allieri talk of being in rehab with "Wall Street guys" and, as Allieri said, "guys living under a bridge."

We know all this. We also know that the path from prescribed painkillers to painkiller addiction can be so quick and insidious for some people, that the word killer takes on a more ominous meaning.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

What is new is the vulnerability of high school athletes, especially those in high-contact sports such as football and wrestling, according to University of Michigan research professor Philip Veliz, who has published 13 academic studies on drug use in teens and adolescents.

In one study, he found 11 percent of high school athletes used prescribed pain medication just to get high by the time they were seniors. He is now studying the path from pain meds to heroin.

"We hear about it anecdotally," Veliz said in a phone interview Friday. "But there had never been an academic study to see if it's true."

Even without the definitive heroin link, the rise of painkiller addiction among athletes is alarming.

"These painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin are super-addictive," Veliz said. "They relieve acute pain; they're not for long-term use."

One of the researchers on his team uncovered perhaps the scariest statistic of them all: 75 percent of parents allow their children to manage their own medication.

"They might only need one or two, but they have a prescription for 30, so they take them all. That's why parents really need to monitor what their kids are taking," Veliz said. 

"They (doctors) give them out like candy," said Allieri, 23. "That's a fact."

Allieri tore the ligaments in his right thumb during a college-scouting combine at the University of Delaware in 2009. He was 17. A local "pain doctor" prescribed OxyContin, he said, "and never mentioned they were addictive."

He took the pills for four months. When he stopped, he got sick.

"It was like the flu times 10," he said. "Sweating, throwing up. I knew it was withdrawal."

He found them where he could - in friends' medicine cabinets or for sale on the street.

"But they were $25, $30 a pill," he said. "Heroin was much cheaper. You got more for you money."

Within a year, Allieri was shooting heroin and began a journey that included losing a full football scholarship to Villanova, burglary and animal cruelty charges - to which he pled guilty - and seven trips to rehab. He's clean now and trying to find his place in life.

"My story was not unique," he said Friday. "Everybody had the same story."

Lucas' story is as much about the athletes' hard-headed mentality to play at all costs, as it is the muscular potency of the latest generation of painkillers.

Lucas was a three-sport, all-state athlete at Harrison High School, the starting quarterback at Rutgers and for the New York Jets, and a special teams player and back-up quarterback for three other teams.

The first time he got seriously injured at Rutgers - a torn rotator cuff - he took ibuprofen for pain.

A few years later, in the NFL, the hits got harder and the pills got stronger, but neither curtailed Lucas's desire to play.

"Every time you have a collision, it's like being in a car accident," Lucas told the Montclair State class, led by professors Rob Gilbert and John McCarthy. "And for all those little dings ... you start getting drugs."

The little dings worsened into major injuries: two herniated discs while lifting, a serious neck injury, two bad knees, and on and on. Still, he played.

"I would have done anything to stay in the NFL,'' he said.

So the injuries piled up and so did the pills. Roxicodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Oxycodone. At one point, Lucas said he was taking 1,200 to 1,400 pills a month.

The first time he tried to stop, he got what Allieri described as the flu times 10.

"Stuff was coming out of me everywhere," Lucas told the class. "I called the doctor and he said, 'Take 3' (of the pain pills)."

It was official. He was an addict. In his 2014 book, "Under Pressure" (Triumph Books), Lucas tells of how he foraged for pills from doctors and street dealers, and how he came close to killing himself by driving off the George Washington Bridge. He's clean now, but says, "I'm more afraid of those little pills than anything in the world."

A typical story of addiction. And, these days, from a typical source.

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.

Police in New York arrested Nestor Canela Friday for the killing of a 64-year-old Newark man. Watch video

NEWARK -- A suspect wanted in connection with the killing of a 64-year-old city man was captured Friday in New York, according to an announcement by acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Police Director Eugene Venable. 

Nestor Francisco Canela, 37, was arrested in the Bronx on Friday by New York City Police Department and Essex County Homicide Task Force investigators, said Anthony Ambrose, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office's chief of detectives.

Canela is currently being detained in New York on $1 million bail pending extradition to New Jersey, Ambrose said. Canela is accused of killing Charles Jeffery, who was found dead inside an Elm Street residence on Thursday.

Canela was also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, Ambrose said.

Police discovered Jeffrey's body Thursday evening after investigators were called to a residence on the 300 block of Elm Street in the city's Ironbound section, officials said.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/11/64-year-old_newark_man_found_killed_inside_newark.html#incart_river_index

The exact circumstances of the killing are unclear. Authorities have determined that Jeffrey was killed after he was struck by an object, Ambrose said. He declined to identify the object used in the killing. 

Investigators at the scene reported that Jeffrey appeared to have suffered significant body trauma, officials said.

Likewise, the reasons for Jeffrey's killing also remain unclear. Canela and Jeffrey did know each other, Ambrose said. But a motive for the killing has not been determined, he added.

An investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force is ongoing.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Featured video 

At least one freight train car derailed and toppled onto a street in the township Saturday, authorities said.

UPDATE: Contaminated soil spills after train cars derail in N.J., officials say

NUTLEY -- At least one freight train car derailed and toppled onto a street in the township Saturday, authorities said.
There were no reported injuries and no evacuations, officials at the scene said. One train car flipped on a street next to the rail line while others appeared to be leaning off the tracks near Hillside Avenue.

Police and representatives from Norfolk Southern were at the scene around 5 p.m.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Crews were working to clear four cubic yards of contaminated soil that spilled after two freight train cars derailed in the township Saturday, officials said.

NUTLEY -- Crews were working to clear four cubic yards of contaminated soil that spilled after two freight train cars derailed in the township Saturday, officials said.

There was no air or water contamination from the derailment, Norfolk Southern spokesman Dave Pidgeon said. The soil was contaminated with PCBs and stabilized lead.

A contractor would also conduct tests on asphalt at the scene, near Hillside Avenue, the spokesman added.

One train car overturned and another was leaning, Pidgeon said Saturday night. The derailment occurred around 2 p.m.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/11/freight_train_car_derails_overturns_on_nj_street.html#incart_river_index

There were no injuries and no need for evacuations, according to authorities.

Pidgeon said crews planned to have the scene cleaned up by early Sunday while the cause of the derailment remained under investigation.

Nutley Police Sgt. Anthony Montanari said the train was traveling from the former Hoffman-La Roche facility at Kingsland Street and Bloomfield Avenue, an area that has been undergoing remediation. 

Township police cordoned off an area near the derailment as authorities worked at the scene around 5 p.m.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Erin O'Neill contributed to this report.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

'You can really taste the dark side,' Colbert said, taking a sip from a stormtrooper mug

About 15 years ago, Stephen Colbert spied a giant ad for a new TV series called "Alias." He thought he was seeing things.

The woman in the skintight bodysuit -- Jennifer Garner -- used to be his daughter's babysitter.

He informed his wife, Evelyn, of the news about Garner, who he had first met on the set of the Michael J. Fox sitcom "Spin City." 

"She wasn't hot," Evelyn told him, in disbelief. 

"Yes, she was," Colbert said. 

"Well, you never said anything," she replied. 

Colbert bested Abrams in many realms of nerddom at the Montclair Film Festival's 'Celebrity Nerd-Off.' (Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Montclair Film Festival)
 

The ABC series, which would take Colbert's former babysitter to the big time as CIA double agent Sydney Bristow, was created by J.J. Abrams, known for "Felicity," and later, "Lost" and the film reboots of "Star Trek."

The Jennifer Garner moment was just one gem of many that Colbert, the former "Colbert Report" host now at the helm of "The Late Show," let loose as he interviewed Abrams Saturday night as part of a "Celebrity Nerd-Off" at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. 

Coming just weeks before the release of Abrams' much-hyped "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens," the onstage conversation acted as a benefit for the Montclair Film Festival, which runs from April 29 to May 16. And Colbert's nerd prowess was in full effect -- whether it was suggesting, in great detail, which J.R.R. Tolkien tale Abrams might do well to tackle -- or answering "Star Wars" questions that stumped even Abrams.

"You can really taste the dark side," Colbert said, taking a sip from a stormtrooper mug.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/02/jj_abrams_thomas_edison_movie.html

Colbert, who lives in Montclair, is on the advisory board of the festival, and his wife is the vice-chair of the board. Last year's festival fundraiser paired Colbert with Steve Carell, his former "Daily Show" colleague.

Here are a few more magic moments from his chat with Abrams, the director and co-writer of "The Force Awakens," who has spent the last three years making the "Star Wars" film: 

• "At 2:30 in the morning (today) we finished the mix of the movie," said Abrams, talking about "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens." He casually added, later -- "I was talking to John Williams last night." 

• "I didn't play sports because I physically couldn't," said Abrams, explaining why he turned to his parents' Super 8 camera and amateur filmmaking as a child. (For his part, Colbert stuck with Dungeons & Dragons. "I have nothing to show for it," he said.)

• Stephen Colbert once auditioned for a movie co-written by Abrams called "Filofax." He was unsuccessful. When the film, a comedy starring Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin, came out in 1990, it was called "Taking Care of Business." 

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/10/lucky_geek_will_be_on_stage_with_colbert_jj_abrams.html

• Abrams was brought in as a script doctor for the 1998 Michael Bay movie "Armageddon." After consulting a NASA scientist, he found much of the story's details about space to be incorrect. But producer Jerry Bruckheimer told him to leave the fantastical touches in the script. 

• Abrams can be seen in the 1993 film "Six Degrees of Separation." Yes, as an actor (Colbert cued up a clip). 

• "Lost" -- Abrams co-created the series with Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof -- almost didn't happen the way it happened. Abrams was suddenly told they should wrap the whole series into a TV movie, but when he asked how they should do that, he didn't get an answer. The series got made anyway. "I would say that you kicked off the golden age of television," Colbert said of the show.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2015/09/late_show_with_stephen_colbert_premiere_review.html

• Despite his role in resurrecting the original "Star Trek" characters for film, Abrams was never an especially big fan of the series. (Colbert was.)

• Abrams said the Newark event was the first time he'd seen the "Force Awakens" trailer in front of a real audience. 

• Growing up in Charleston, S.C., Colbert saw the first "Star Wars" film, "Episode IV," earlier in 1977 than most of his friends after winning a ticket contest. "For the next few weeks I didn't know how to explain to my friends how everything was different now," he said. 

• Joe, an audience member from Philadelphia, was the winner of a bid to be the first to ask Abrams a question. "What is the stupidest thing that the Jedi decided in any of the first six films?" he asked. Abrams was stumped. Colbert stepped up to the plate. "To train Anakin" (the future Darth Vader), he said. 

• Another audience member asked Abrams how many ewoks he thinks he could take on in a fight. Colbert hunched down low to help him answer the question. "Six," the director said. 

• Abrams said his favorite non-starring alien in the "Star Wars" movies is the guy with the smile in the cantina in "A New Hope." 

• Colbert asked Abrams if "the force" meant anything to him as a kid. "It was a nondenominational, powerful idea that was very important to us, in this film, to bring back," he said. 

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.

Franciscan Charities, a non-profit organization, along with St. Anne's Soup Kitchen holds their annual coat drive at St. Rocco's Church in Newark. Watch video

NEWARK-- People lined up outside of St. Rocco's Church in Newark early this morning, sipping hot chocolate and eating cookies as they waited for their turn to pick out a winter coat.

Franciscan Charities, a non-profit organization, along with St. Anne's Soup Kitchen holds their annual coat drive at St. Rocco's Church in Newark. The event is for families of the working poor.  

About 60 volunteers were on hand to assist each client to find a coat, hat, scarf and pair of gloves. 

Last year, more than 800 coats and winter accessories were distributed to children and adults.

MORE: Bi-partisan plan needed to improve life for N.J.'s working poor, Kean and Booker say

Kevin Lawlor, a board member of St. Anne's Soup Kitchen and coordinator of the coat drive said more than 1,500 coats were donated this year through local coat drives. From those, between 700 to 800 coats will be given to clients that attended this year's event. The rest will be will be given to neighboring churches for their coat drives to ensure that every coat is used.  

Lawlor said he feels this event helps give back to the community. 

"We know clients are leaving with a coat that will help keep them warm for the winter," he said. "It also helps their self-esteem, they feel empowered when they can go around and pick out a coat," he added.

This is the third year that Taneesha Berry, 30,has attended the coat drive. Berry a mother of three children ranging in age from one to 14 said her family helps support her children but cannot afford to support her.    

Berry said she came to the event to pick out a coat, hat and scarf for herself. She said she feels this is an important event and needed by the community. 

"If it wasn't for this event every year a lot of people in this community would go without coats," Berry said.

Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @psapone. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Rutgers spent $83 million transforming 15 Washington St., a historic building that had been empty for more than a decade.

NEWARK --For decades, the cavernous building on Washington Street was one of Rutgers University's biggest embarrassments.

The 1920s skyscraper, built as the grand headquarters for a Newark insurance company, served as the home of Rutgers-Newark's law school. But, by 2000, it had grown so rundown, the school moved out and the building was closed up.

Rutgers officials proposed new uses for the abandoned building over the years as the skyscraper became the target of vandals. But none of the renovations ever happened - until now.

Rutgers-Newark held a ceremony Tuesday unveiling an $83 million renovation of 15 Washington St. The 17-story skyscraper was transformed into a residence hall for undergraduate and graduate students.

"It's just a success story at Rutgers," said Antonio Calcado, Rutgers' vice president of university facilities and capital planning. "It was in bad shape. We've literally breathed new life back into it."

Family blasts Rutgers for letting historic mansion 'rot'

The crumbling building was overhauled from its basement to its ornate cupola. About 233 graduate students and 100 undergraduates moved into the skyscraper at the beginning of the semester.

Though some of the furniture is still arriving and workers are still fixing some of the kinks in the building, the move-in has gone well, said Angelita Bonilla, Rutgers-Newark's associate dean of student affairs.

"It's been great," Bonilla said. "We're slowly getting everything. The gym equipment just came."

The luxury building includes studio and multi-bedroom apartments with kitchens and oversized bathrooms. Students also have access to a basement gym, yoga studio, study lounges and meeting spaces.

The vast, marble-lined "counting hall" where the insurance company's customers once paid their premiums has also been restored. It serves as a student lounge and event space.

Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor is scheduled to move into the building's two-story penthouse next semester. The 3,600-square-foot chancellor's residence, with sweeping views of Manhattan, will be one of the perks of her job.

The building, located on Washington Park between the Newark Museum and the Newark Public Library, was built in the late 1920s as the headquarters of the American Insurance Company.

The neo-classical skyscraper was designed by John and Wilson Ely, the same father-son architectural firm that designed Newark City Hall and the National Newark Building on Broad Street.

American Insurance was acquired by Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., which eventually donated the historic building to Rutgers. The university's Newark law school moved into the building along with other campus departments and administrators.

The skyscraper was renamed the S.I. Newhouse Center for Law and Justice after the founder of Advance Publications, the owner of The Star-Ledger and NJ Advance Media.

The iconic building, with its marble lobby and column-lined facade, became a popular spot for filming movies and television shows. A scene from "The Sopranos" was filmed out front and the interior served as the fictional law school in the 1998 film  "Rounders," starring Matt Damon.

But the building fell into disrepair, leading to protests from law students, who regularly got stuck in the notoriously unreliable elevators. In 2000, the law school moved out, parading down the street behind bag pipers to a new building.

Rutgers officials worked out a deal to convert 15 Washington St. into a Marriott hotel and conference center. But the plan fell apart after the hotel industry tanked following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"It sat empty for 15 years, essentially. There were a number of plans that never panned out," said Calcado, the Rutgers official overseeing the project. "Some of it was timing . . . Then, the stars kind of aligned."

Rutgers worked out a complex agreement in 2013 to partner with the New Brunswick Development Corp., known as Devco, on the project. Both Rutgers and the private, non-profit developer own parts of the building and pay for the $83 million renovation.

How Rutgers-Newark landed a (last-minute) visit from President Obama 

Rutgers contributed a $10.75 million state higher education grant toward the construction and Devco got $13 million in state tax credits, university officials said.

Devco secured a mortgage to pay for most of the renovation, which will eventually be paid off using housing fees paid by students living in the building.

The 263,000-square-foot renovation did not go smoothly. Rutgers' governing board had to approve additional money to cover the removal of asbestos and lead paint from the building.

But the project came in on time and within the increased budget, Calcado said.

Students pay between $6,845 per person per calendar year for a studio apartment and $6,270 per person for a four bedroom, two bathroom apartment, according to the Rutgers-Newark housing price list.

Graduate students all get single bedrooms in the building's apartments, while undergraduates may have to share double bedrooms.

The student housing fees should be enough to maintain the building, Rutgers officials said.

"We want it to be as self-sustaining as possible," Calcado said.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

No injuries were reported as a result of the derailment near Hillside Avenue

NUTLEY - A load of contaminated soil has been removed from a local property after being dumped there when a freight train derailed and flipped Saturday night.

Dave Pidgeon, a spokesman for railroad company Norfolk Southern, said the four cubic yards of soil was removed by Sunday afternoon, and service on the rail line had been restored.

The company is still in the process of hiring a contractor to test asphalt on the lot off of Hillside Avenue to ensure there were no lingering health risks from the soil contaminated with PCBs and stabilized lead, according to Pidgeon.

"As far as we can determine there is no contamination of any water or air," he said.

Norfolk Southern is still investigating the cause of the derailment around 2 a.m., and will issue a report to the Freight Rail Association sometime next month.

The train was traveling from the former Hoffman-La Roche facility at Kingsland Street and Bloomfield Avenue when it ran off track, leaving one of its cars overturned and another leaning toward one side.

No injuries were reported.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Five stretches of New Jersey highways are among the 50 worst bottlenecks in the country, according to a report released Monday. Watch video

WASHINGTON -- Jersey drivers know it all too well: Clogged traffic on the same roads, the daily torture of inching ahead as time is lost and gas is guzzled. 

Now a new report by a highway advocacy group shows New Jersey has five of the nation's 50 stretches of road with the worst traffic bottlenecks -- jammed highways that cost Garden State motorists a total of $197 million in wasted time every year. 

Traffic backups at the Lincoln Tunnel, for example, cost motorists an estimated $87 million, making it the eighth-worst bottleneck in the nation, according to a report issued Monday by the American Highway Users Alliance, whose members include trade associations representing truckers, tires and recreational vehicles.

The five worst in New Jersey and where they rank in the U.S.are:

Ranked 8 - The Lincoln Tunnel between 10th Avenue in New York and John F. Kennedy Blvd.

Ranked 18 -  I-95 between Route 4 and Palisades Interstate Parkway in Fort Lee

Ranked 19 - Pulaski Skyway between I-95 and Central Avenue in Newark

Ranked 31 - Routes 1&9 between Wilson Avenue and I-78

Ranked 37 -  Pulaski Skyway between Tonelle Avenue and Broadway

"I'm surprised there's only five," said Cathleen Lewis, a spokeswoman for the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club. 

Including four bottlenecks in New York City, the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region is the second-worst in the country, behind only Los Angeles, according to the report.

The report says there's a big cost to waiting in traffic: The congested stretch of I-95, less than a mile long, costs motorists $38 million in wasted time as they spend 1.5 million hours a year sitting in traffic and needlessly burning 810,680 gallons of gasoline, the report said.

There's also traffic pain in Philadelphia, which has two bottlenecks on the list: the Schuylkill Expressway at U.S. 1; and I-676, the Vine Street Expressway, just east of its terminus at I-76.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/02/more_than_1_in_3_nj_bridges_deficient_as_federal_and_state_officials_seek_money_to_fix_them.html

Adding to the problem is the existing roadways are aging, with no new construction in sight. The first tube of the Lincoln Tunnel was opened in 1937; the Pulaski Skyway in 1932.

"We have neglected our infrastructure," Lewis said. "We are basically living on the crumbling dreams of people who lived 100 years ago. You can see that in rankings like this. We have let it get to this point."

The two Pulaski Skyway bottlenecks carry a price tag of $51 million. The state is spending more than $1 billion to rebuild the 3.5-mile highway, with work expected to be finished in 2020. The northbound lanes, closed since 2014, are scheduled to reopen by the end of the year, weather permitting. Then traffic will be detoured onto the newly completed part while the southbound lanes are closed for repairs.

Besides saving money and time, removing the bottlenecks also would save gasoline and reduce polluting emissions, the report said. For example, fixing the Lincoln Tunnel choke point could save 1.7 million gallons of fuel and eliminate 35 million pounds of exhaust.

 "These findings are critically important and mean that our nation will derive huge benefits from fixing the worst gridlock in our nation's highway system: benefits that go way beyond improving mobility for highway users," said Greg Cohen, president of the American Highway Users Alliance.   

Thanksgiving travel forecast gets messy as you head west

The report was issued as Congress debates a six-year plan to fund roads, bridges, railroad and transit. Congressional negotiators, including U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.) and Albio Sires (D-8th Dist.) are trying to reconcile differences between separate bills passed by the House and Senate.

The House bill eliminates a special funding program for New Jersey, and six other northeastern states with a large number of public transportation riders that would take away $50 million a year from NJ Transit.

"This report furthers the unassailable truth that America is stuck in traffic," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. "The good news is that this problem is solvable, and Congress can be part of the solution." 

But neither bill fully funds transportation spending over the next six years nor increases allocations in order to fully address a backlog in highway construction projects. Lawmakers and President Obama have opposed increasing the federal gasoline tax in order to raise more money for transportation.

In Trenton, New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund is running out of money and the Democrats in the state legislature are looking at ways to replenish the account. An increase in the state gasoline tax, which at 14.5 cents a gallon is lower than every other state but Alaska, has been among the options being discussed.

Republican lawmakers are resisting, with some insisting other taxes be cut in return. 

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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494 Broad Street officially opened last week.

NEWARK -- Ten new stories and 4,500 square feet of retail space might just be a sign of change.

That's according to real estate executives, and city and county officials who gathered in Newark last week to officially open the newly renovated 494 Broad Street building, which houses several large companies in the city, including Cablevision.

Fidelco Realty Group, which owns the 1 Washington Park office tower across the street, bought the Broad Street building about five years ago, its chairman, Marc Berson, said. The building, originally constructed in the 1960s, was vacant when the company took it over, he said.

Demand for more office space in the building prompted the company to start this expansion project two years ago, he said.

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"We are really thrilled," Berson said in a phone interview about the expansion. "People who are coming in (to Newark) are looking toward the future. That's what this is about."

The building's $60 million renovation added 10 new stories that include 650 parking spaces, 4,500 square feet of future retail space, and a new facade on the entire building, Fidelco said. The cost was partially offset by several tax credit programs, officials said.

Berson and local officials said the building - which is surrounded by Rutgers Business School and Audible.com's headquarters in Fidelco's Washington Park building, the Newark Museum and public library, and the Broad Street train station - is part of an ongoing commercial build up of Broad Street.

Its grand re-opening last week was held the same day as that of its neighbor, Rutgers's new luxury dorm skyscraper. 

"Newark's Washington Park district is a diverse and flourishing area that is rich in history and filled with cultural, educational and business opportunities," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said in a statement.

"The addition of the newly renovated and expanded 494 Broad Street will further strengthen the area, create jobs and contribute to the vitality of the city."

According to Fidelco, the construction project created about 400 temporary jobs, and will house about 1,000 permanent office jobs. It is currently occupied by more than a dozen companies and organizations, including Cablevision, Genova Burns Attorneys, and several educational organizations, like the Newark Trust for Education.

Berson said the renovated building is just one sign of more development to come in the area.

"The next big, thrust, I think, will be residential development," he said. "We've seen the need...and that will be a game changer."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

If you're planning to travel across the country for Thanksgiving this week, there's some good news and some bad news.

If you're doing any long-distance traveling for Thanksgiving this week, either by car or by plane, there's some good news and some bad news.

The good news: The weather conditions are looking great here in New Jersey and throughout most of the eastern seaboard. The bad news: The further west you travel, the more likelihood you'll be running into some messy weather and facing travel delays.

That's how this week's weather forecast is shaping up. AccuWeather forecasters are predicting a widespread area of rain, wind and light snow in western states, from Colorado to California. Here in New Jersey, it should be mostly sunny and dry on the biggest travel day -- Wednesday -- and partly sunny and dry on Thanksgiving Day as temperatures continue to climb.

"A large chunk of the East is going to be dry," said Tom Kines, an AccuWeather meteorologist, who noted temperatures in New Jersey will be running higher than usual on Thanksgiving. "There should be an abundance of sunshine."

Will gas prices drop in time for Thanksgiving travel?

As for Black Friday, the long-range forecast originally called for a chance of rain, but now it's looking likely the big shopping day will be dry and pleasant, with partly sunny skies and the temperature reaching a spring-like 62 degrees in northern New Jersey and as high as 67 in southern New Jersey. (Sounds like a better day for outdoor activities than for indoor shopping sprees.)

"The major airports and smaller hubs from Atlanta to Boston, New York City, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., are not likely to experience direct weather-related delays," said Alex Sosnowski, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. "An exception to the snow-free weather will be a round of snow showers from northern Minnesota to western and northern New York state, northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio from Monday into Tuesday. However, there will not be a significant snowfall."

Jerseyans traveling to Chicago and other parts of the Midwest on Wednesday may encounter rain, but not snow, Kines said. Further west, several inches of snow could fall in the high mountain areas of Colorado, Utah and western Kansas, but no blockbuster snowstorms -- like the one that clobbered that region last week -- are expected this week.  

Here is a look at the latest weather projections for northern, central and southern New Jersey heading into the holiday weekend.

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Man allegedly committed an armed robbery in Montclair on Nov. 11.

Man allegedly committed an armed robbery in Montclair on Nov. 11. (Courtesy Montclair PD)
 

MONTCLAIR -- Police have released a sketch of a man who they say is wanted in connection with an armed robbery last week.

According to police, a 39-year-old West Orange man was walking on Harrison Ave. at about 11:05 a.m. on Nov. 11 when a man allegedly carrying a handgun approached him and demanded his phone. After grabbing the man's cell phone, he ran away toward Cedar Avenue, police said.

The West Orange man was not injured in the incident, police said.

The suspect is described as a thin black man with dreadlocks, police said. He was last seen wearing a red and gray sweatshirt, black and white sweatpants, and a black beanie, authorities said.

Anyone with information should call the Montclair Police Department at 973-744-1234.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.