Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop weighed in on Councilwoman-at-Large Amy DeGise’s hit-and-run last night during an interview with NJ Spotlight News: “you should never leave the scene of a crash.”
“You should never leave the scene of a crash. I think the responsible thing is to wait for law enforcement and follow the law. I don’t think there’s any circumstances where that’s really justifiable,” Fulop said in a Zoom interview with David Cruz.
” … Yeah, I think the sooner the better [to release the footage]. If it was a unilateral decision from me, I would’ve released it already, but that’s not the way the process works. I think always being forthcoming with information and transparent is a good thing for everybody involved.”
The mayor, who selected DeGise to run for a council-at-large seat on his ticket in the November elections to replace then-incumbent Rolando Lavarro, also said that the councilwoman is entitled to due process like anyone else.
Additionally, Fulop joins Safe Streets JC and Bike JC in calling for the release of all the video related to the incident as soon as possible.
One week ago, DeGise was involved in a crash with a bicyclist around 8 a.m. near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Forrest Street where she left the scene of the accident.
She has acknowledged the incident occurred, but has declined to comment further since it is a pending court matter.
The case doesn’t have a court date yet, but it certainly won’t be held in Jersey City where DeGise holds office, and will likely be held outside of Hudson County since her father is County Executive Tom DeGise.
Yesterday, the Jersey City Clerk’s Office told HCV that information on the incident requested through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) will be released in the coming days.