The BMW driver in a fatal Jersey City crash on Paterson Plank Road that killed three people early Monday morning has been charged, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Ziyang Wang, 23, of Jersey City, is charged with three counts of reckless manslaughter, three counts of death by auto, and one count of assault by auto, Suarez said in a statement.
Wang was arrested at Jersey City Medical Center, where he will remain in custody until medically cleared.
On Monday, October 16th, at approximately 12:45 a.m., the Jersey City Police Department was notified of a two-car collision on Paterson Plank Road, south of Congress Street.
Responding officers located a BMW X5 M50i that appeared to have crashed head-on with a Kia Amanti. The driver of the Kia – identified as Dylan Weidenfeld, 26, of Jersey City – was pronounced dead at the scene.
The BMW was occupied by five individuals. Wang was identified as the driver of the BMW. A female backseat passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. A male backseat passenger was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Their identities are being withheld pending next of kin notifications. A third backseat passenger, a 19-year-old female, remains in critical condition at Jersey City Medical Center.
A front seat female passenger suffered injuries that are not considered to be life-threatening at this time.
Data recovered during the preliminary investigation found Wang was operating the vehicle in excess of 100 miles per hour in the seconds leading up to the collision.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit is actively investigating this matter with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department.
100 MPH??? Bury him under the jail
At that speed – heck, even HALF the speed – that road isn’t safe and nothing can be done to make it safe.
You really want to make the roads safer?
Raise the minimum driving age. Make it much harder to get a driver’s license. And stop accepting foreign driver’s licenses as valid to drive here.
The problems with Paterson Plank Road were known for decades and the County and municipalities did nothing to correct or mitigate them.
Don’t know what issue you are citing with the road itself. but driving 100 mph is pure insanity – and with 5 people in the car whose death warrants you sign along with your own. Can’t blame any stretch of pavement for someone being that thoughtless.