Cowardly move to leave the scene while girlfriend dies in icy crash
Jacob Garrett, a 24-yearold, Burlington City man faces a detention hearing today inside a Burlington County courtroom following his arrest on several charges last Sunday.
Police charged Garrett of the 100 block of Stacy Court in Burlington City, with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, causing death while driving with a suspended license and endangering an injured victim.
Garrett allegedly drove a vehicle that struck a parked car then broke through a guard rail and plunged into the
Delaware
River.
His girlfriend,
Stephanie White, 23, of Burlington City, died during the incident. Garrett escaped the vehicle as it crashed through the ice but responders found his girlfriend still harnessed by her seatbelt.
First responders eventually extricated White from the submerged vehicle before transporting her to Lourdes Medical Center where officials issued a death notice..
Witnesses said Garrett informed them that his girlfriend remained in the vehicle. And then? He ran off, hopped a NJ Transit light rail train, according to authorities. While it’s difficult to imagine Garrett jumping back into the frozen waters of the Delaware River to save his girlfriend, leaving the scene of the accident, no matter what the circumstances sounds cowardly.
Fear? Sure. Human decency demands that you stay, potentially even perish while attempting to rescue your loved one. While many people may think they would have responded differently, no one really knows until placed in that situation.
Burlington County police reportedly used K-9 Officer Kobi who tracked Garrett to Burlington Towne Center North light rail platform on West Broad St.
Officers from the Beverly City, Edgewater Park and Burlington City police departments caught up with Garrett at the Beverly-Edgewater station.
Garrett received an evaluation at Lourdes Medical Center before being housed in the Burlington City jail.
Joel Bewley, a Burlington County Prosecutor spokesman, said his office will seek to detain Garrett. The detention hearing will occur before Superior Court Judge Louise D. Donaldson in Courtroom 4B at 10 a.m.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Reach him at laparker@ trentonian.com. Follow him on Twitter@ laparker6.