By Anthony G. Attrino
nj.com
NEWARK, N.J. — A Newark police sergeant was charged Thursday with aggravated manslaughter in an off-duty crash that killed a traffic control officer who was struck while directing traffic near the Prudential Center last month.
Victor Ortiz, 34, of Hillside, also faces a charge of vehicular homicide in the death of Newark Traffic Control Officer Jairo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 53, was struck about 12:44 a.m. on Dec. 11 on Broad Street following an event at the Prudential Center, authorities have said.
The husband and father, who worked for the police department since 2022, was taken to University Hospital, where he died.
“Ortiz surrendered to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office this morning,” Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Newark Public Safety Director Emmanuel Miranda said in a joint statement.
Ortiz was held Thursday ahead in jail of a first-appearance court hearing. The prosecutor’s office did not say whether they intend to ask for pre-trial detention.
Authorities said at the time of the crash that the officer who struck Ortiz was off-duty, in his private vehicle and remained at the scene. But it was unclear Thursday whether Ortiz was in uniform or where he had been prior to the crash.
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