By Anne Levin

Princeton Mayor Mark Freda has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit related to a fatal crash that took place on Route 27 in November 2021. Freda, who is president of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad (PFARS) and is a volunteer firefighter, was allegedly involved in a chase that took place before the fatal collision.

A teenager from Newark and a woman from Kendall Park were killed in the crash, which involved a Jeep Grand Cherokee, stolen from a home in Pequannock Township and driven by 15-year-old Damajia Horner; and another vehicle driven by Jodi Marcou, a 61-year-old fundraising coordinator at Rutgers University. Both drivers died after the Jeep crossed the yellow lines and collided head-on into Marcou’s Acura near Carnegie Drive. A 14-year-old boy in the Jeep sustained severe injuries.

It was on the afternoon of November 7, 2021 that three teenagers in the stolen Jeep pilfered an unlocked Range Rover parked on Dodds Lane. A resident of Clover Lane, where the trio then attempted to steal two sports cars, called police and the mayor, who each drove to the scene. When the teens saw them, they drove away. The Jeep, driven by the 15-year-old, was the vehicle involved in the crash. The Range Rover, driven by another teen, was later found abandoned in Newark.

The lawsuit reads that Freda “flipped on the blue lights of the vehicle he was driving at the time and joined the police chase,” actions in violation of township, police, and First Aid/Rescue policies, it reads.

The lawsuit naming Freda is the latest in court filings related to the case. According to a report by the radio station and website New Jersey 101.5, which first reported the suit by Marcou’s husband last week, Freda’s name was added on July 21.

In addition to Freda, the suit by David Marcou also faults the owner of the Jeep for leaving it unlocked with the keys inside. Marcou first filed a lawsuit against a 19-year-old accused of ordering the 15-year-old to steal the Jeep. Her mother and Hanover Insurance were also named as defendants.

The original report from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office did not reveal Freda’s involvement in the chase. A statement from Princeton Police at the time of the crash said the officer investigating the initial attempted theft began following the Range Rover while the Jeep fled in another direction.

“The Range Rover suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed and the officer attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop,” police said in the statement. “A motor vehicle pursuit ensued but was terminated on Snowden Lane due to the reckless driving of the Range Rover.”

Freda, a 45-year veteran of PFARS, and Princeton’s mayor since 2021, has declined comment on the lawsuit.