North Jersey Police Chase Ends With Fatal Crash, Cops Won't Face Criminal Charges

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — No criminal charges will be filed against police in connection with a fatal car chase that took place in Essex County during the summer of 2024, state prosecutors announced Tuesday.

A grand jury has voted not to file criminal charges regarding the death of Omar Williams, 43, of Hamilton, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

Prosecutors said the car chase that led to the fatal crash crossed through several towns: Bloomfield, East Orange, Montclair and Newark.

According to prosecutors, a woman was robbed of her purse while exiting an Acme grocery store in Montclair around 11 a.m. on July 23. About 10 minutes later, another purse snatching took place outside a CVS pharmacy in Bloomfield – with the victim being pushed to the ground.

The suspects in both incidents fled the scene in a Nissan Sentra. Witnesses reported the license plate number to police, who determined that the car was stolen out of Montclair the previous day.

Authorities soon learned that the Nissan was in Newark from automated license plate recognition notifications. Around 1 p.m., a Bloomfield police detective in an unmarked vehicle located the Nissan near the Newark border. He radioed other BPD units, who joined the pursuit.

The driver – later identified as Williams – sped away from police, setting off a car chase, prosecutors said.

The chase crossed from Newark to East Orange, until the Nissan drove into the wrong lane on Park Avenue in East Orange at 1:08 p.m. At the same time, a Toyota Camry driven by an uninvolved motorist pulled into the center lane to make a left turn.

Here’s what happened next, authorities said:

“As the Toyota turned, the Nissan sideswiped the Toyota. The impact caused the Nissan to strike the front of a parked ambulance. Law enforcement officers removed Mr. Williams, who was unconscious at the time, from the Nissan. EMS transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 1:38 p.m.”

All other involved civilians suffered non-life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said.

The police vehicles involved in the pursuit were not directly involved in the collisions, prosecutors previously said.

The entire pursuit spanned about 2.9 miles and lasted about four minutes.

The New Jersey attorney general’s office posted footage of the crash in January. The videos were taken from a dashboard camera, body-worn cameras and third-party cameras. They can be viewed online here. WARNING: Videos contain material that may be disturbing for some viewers.

Williams’ death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and presented to New Jersey residents serving on the grand jury.

The investigation included witness interviews, photographs, radio transmissions, review of video footage from police dashboard cameras, body-worn cameras and third-party cameras, as well as autopsy results from a medical examiner.

After hearing the testimony and evidence, the grand jury finished deliberating Monday and voted “no bill,” meaning that no criminal charges should be filed against the relevant officer.

Now that the investigation has concluded, the OPIA will determine whether any officer should be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for administrative review in accordance with the attorney general’s internal affairs policy and procedures, prosecutors said.

Learn more about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey here.

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