AT LARGE & NO CHARGE
County Executive collided with parked car, left scene, and received no citations >>
PRINCETON >> Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes appears to have misled commissioners about a third incident that he was involved in while behind the wheel of a county-owned car in 2017.
Records undercut the Democratic kingmaker’s characterization that he provided about the accident during a rare appearance Tuesday night before the Democrat-controlled Board of County Commissioners.
“No harm, no foul,” Hughes said, describing the incident as minor.
He went on to blame narrow lanes of Princeton’s well-known Nassau Street for contributing to the collision, and even had Commissioner Andrew Koontz vouch for him about the slender thoroughfare.
But an officer who found Hughes at fault for the 2017 crash described the incident far differently.
According to the police report obtained by The Trentonian, Hughes was involved in what is commonly known as a hit-and-run.
The report detailed that the “suspect vehicle” struck a 2012 Hyundai Elantra belonging to an employee of the Craft Cleaners and then “left the scene” before police arrived.
Hughes, who was a regular customer at the local dry-cleaning business, was later tracked down by the officer after a witness identified him as the driver of the black Ford Taurus that struck the back bumper of the Elantra, which was parked in the customer lot of the Craft Cleaners at 225 Nassau Street.
He refused to answer questions about the report when reached for comment.
“You guys gotta talk to Julie [Willmot]. I’m tired of talking to The Trentonian,” Hughes said Wednesday before hanging up the phone, referring the newspaper to his chief spokesperson for comment.
It’s at least the second accident in Princeton that Hughes was found responsible for in 2017, and the third police encounter he’s had over a three year period, records show.
He wasn’t charged or cited in any of the incidents, despite being confused and in an altered mind state in at least two of the incidents.
The collision outside of the Craft Cleaners happened April 19, 2017, about six months before Hughes backed into a brick wall of the STS Tire and Auto Center on State Road in Princeton.
Princeton Police wrote to state driving officials after Hughes crashed into the STS on Oct. 25, 2017, recommending the county executive undergo a driving test and medical exam to ensure he was fit to remain licensed in New Jersey.
There’s no indication yet that the test was administered, though Hughes acknowledged Tuesday night that his doctor and officials at the Motor Vehicle Commission were in contact after the October 2017 crash.
Hughes had a third encounter years later with Pennsylvania State Police.
That incident occurred June 1, 2020, when he told a trooper that he was involved in a road race with four others in Paris, France, after he abandoned his county-issued vehicle along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Pennsylvania State Police has launched an internal affairs investigation to determine whether Hughes — who did not undergo a field-sobriety test and was transported to the hospital — received preferential treatment.
Hughes is the son of former governor and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard J. Hughes.
Hughes’ chief of staff, Kelly Ganges, arranged with the trooper by phone to pick up the county vehicle, which was left parked at the Lawn Service Plaza, 20 miles outside of Harrisburg.
Facing allegations from local members of the GOP of an alleged coverup, Hughes decided to appear voluntarily before the Board of County Commissioners at Tuesday night’s virtual meeting to address his high-profile driving blunders for the first time publicly.
Fellow Democrats, growing tired of learning about Hughes’ so-called driving escapades in a series of bombshell Trentonian reports, had previously threatened to summon him to their meeting to get answers if he continued ducking the public.
In recent weeks, the county executive’s critics pounced on the driving gaffes to suggest Hughes was unfit to lead.
Lisa Richford, the chairwoman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, called for Hughes’ immediate resignation last week, saying the county executive is “unfit to serve” because of the “unlawful and dangerous driving escapades.”
Hughes told the board that he would surrender his county-issued vehicle after one commissioner raised potential liability issues.
“These instances, while bad and I will certainly agree to that, did not result in any type of major accidents or collisions,” he said.
But Hughes stated unequivocally that he was “fully capable” of working despite a rare nerve disorder he had attributed to the incidents, among other health issues.
In 2008, Hughes suffered a cardiac arrest while walking his family dog in Princeton.
Doctors determined he had a blocked artery and performed emergency surgery to insert a stent. He made a full recovery.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Hughes said he was cleared in February by his doctor to continue working full-time without restrictions and that he wouldn’t relinquish control of county government any time soon.
“I am no different than a person who lives with diabetes or multiple sclerosis or any other health issue and who works hard every day,” he said. “I have a condition, and it is not my fault, and it is not something I am ashamed of.”
He left open the possibility that he’d run for a sixth term — supported by an ELEC or New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission report he filed with the state showing the funds he has in his campaign coffers for a June 2023 Democratic primary for county executive.
Board members spent part of the night praising Hughes for coming forward to answer questions about his personal life and health struggles.
“I don’t think there’s another politician in New Jersey who has been so open about personal challenges and [you] really should be
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