Families want answers after Voorhees, NJ crash left 3 seriously injured

Trish Hartman Image
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Families want answers after NJ crash left 3 seriously injured
Families want answers after Voorhees, NJ crash left 3 seriously injured

VOORHEES TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- Attorneys representing the families of three people injured in a collision in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, during Labor Day weekend want answers about the circumstances of the crash.

Among those seriously injured in the August 31, 2024, wreck were siblings Jibril and Nadia Rouag, and their cousin, Zachary MacBride, who was driving them in a blue Honda Civic.

The Honda Civic was left mangled after the crash.

Now attorneys representing the families say they want answers about the tactics law enforcement used that night.

"We have a police report," said Elizabeth Bailey, an attorney with Grant and Eisenhofer. "It is heavily redacted. So the information we're getting is from our own investigation and not from the police itself."

According to court documents obtained by Action News, a Voorhees police officer attempted to stop a stolen vehicle.

The officer attempted to make a felony motor vehicle stop and the driver, Rhafik Ghazal, of Cherry Hill, allegedly fled at a high rate of speed. Police say he ran a red light at the intersection of Haddonfield-Berlin Road and White Horse Road, and caused a four-vehicle crash.

According to the family's attorney, 18-year-old Zachary and 21-year-old Jibril suffered serious injuries requiring surgery, and 18-year-old Nadia is still hospitalized with a brain injury.

According to the affidavit, police attempted to pursue the suspect vehicle before the crash after the suspect almost struck a marked police vehicle as it fled.

Attorneys are now questioning that attempted pursuit and whether it was necessary.

"What our preferred outcome would be is that we get full cooperation from local authorities to really understand what happened here and get the full analysis from them about how they think this happened," said Bailey.

In New Jersey, police pursuits are limited to certain circumstances, one of which is the theft of a motor vehicle. Pursuits are supposed to be limited to situations where the suspect poses an imminent threat to the public.

We tried to get answers from Voorhees police, but they referred us to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecutor's office says circumstances surrounding the crash are under review.