North Bergen police have charged a West New York teacher with reckless driving in an automobile accident that left an 80-year-old North Bergen woman dead and another seriously injured.
The case has been turned over to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, which will present it to a county grand jury to determine whether the teacher should be indicted for any criminal action in the case.
According to North Bergen Traffic Unit Commander Lt. Gary Richmond, the North Bergen police, upon completing their investigation, decided to issue a summons to Carol Fabrikant, 47, of Oradell, for reckless driving in the accident that claimed the life of 80-year-old Dorothy Marcic on Dec. 5.
Marcic died after suffering severe trauma caused when she was struck by the 2001 Ford Escape sport utility vehicle that Fabrikant operated at the intersection of Broadway and 75th Street in North Bergen.
The vehicle also struck 50-year-old Digna Ramirez of North Bergen, who had to undergo two operations to repair damage done to her legs.
At the time, Fabrikant told North Bergen police that she had “blacked out” while driving to work in West New York because she was a diabetic and had not taken her proper medication that morning, according to police.
“Due to her own statement that she blacked out, we decided to issue a summons to her for reckless driving,” Richmond said. “She also said that she could have blacked out because she didn’t eat that morning. In our opinion, she should have known better, especially with a diabetic condition.”
Richmond said that the investigation took so long to come to a conclusion because there was some confusion over what kind of medication Fabrikant was taking and whether it could cause a temporary black-out.
Since a summons was issued and a fatality took place, the case was automatically turned over to the Prosecutor’s Office for review.
First Assistant Prosecutor Terrence Hull said that a grand jury will examine the evidence and hear testimony, probably within the next month, and decide whether to hand down a criminal indictment against Fabrikant or to vote for a “no bill,” which means to drop the matter and return the case back to North Bergen Municipal Court.
“It’s a standard procedure in any fatality,” Hull said. “The matter will be presented to the grand jury and they will make a decision whether or not to bill. We have to make sure whether there was any criminal activity.”
Hull added, “We didn’t feel confident about the circumstances of the case and the testimony of the driver concerning her medication. We will let the grand jury decide. The question definitely involves the driver’s medication.”
Assistant Prosecutor Millie Camacho has been assigned to the case.
If a grand jury decides that Fabrikant acted with any criminal intent, she could be charged with a crime and face a regular trial and jury. She could end up with as much as 10 years in prison for assault by auto, a second-degree crime.
However, the grand jury could decide that it was simply a horrific accident and offer no charges against Fabrikant.
Several of Marcic’s family members held a petition-signing campaign after the accident, asking to have a full investigation into the crash.