An Absecon woman says a city police officer’s patrol car struck her in a crosswalk on Route 9 after he turned from California Avenue, leaving her with permanent injuries and unable to perform daily tasks. Elizabeth E. Green has filed a lawsuit naming Officer Charles W. Ferrara, the City of Absecon and the Absecon Police Department as defendants, seeking compensation for medical expenses and asking a jury to award monetary damages.
According to the lawsuit, reported by NJ.com, Ferrara hit Green with his patrol car in the crosswalk after turning onto Route 9 from California Avenue. The filing does not state whether Ferrara was responding to a call at the time of the crash, and it accuses the officer of striking a pedestrian in a crosswalk and leaving her with permanent injuries. Green is being represented by attorney Michael Gibson, and neither Gibson nor Green could be reached for comment, per the same account.
Green is asking Absecon to turn over police videos of the crash investigation as evidence, according to the lawsuit. Under state law, county prosecutor’s offices investigate non-fatal crashes involving law enforcement officers, the outlet notes, though the report does not indicate what the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office found in this case. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, Absecon Police and Absecon city officials did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, the article states.
What New Jersey Law Requires at Crosswalks
New Jersey law sets a strict standard for drivers approaching pedestrians on foot. Under the state's “Stop and Stay Stopped” rule, codified at N.J.S.A. 39:4-36, drivers must come to a full stop and remain stopped for pedestrians crossing within marked crosswalks on their half of the roadway, according to The New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center. The same statute establishes a presumption that a driver failed to exercise proper care whenever a vehicle collides with a pedestrian in a crosswalk or unmarked intersection, as detailed by Mandelbaum Barrett PC.
Mandelbaum Barrett PC describes a $200 fine, up to 15 days of community service and two motor-vehicle-record points for failure to comply.
A Steep Legal Hurdle Before Suing Police
Suing a municipal police department in New Jersey carries its own procedural obstacles. Under the state’s Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, anyone seeking to sue a municipal entity or government employee like a police officer must formally serve a written Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident or forfeit the right to recover damages, according to the State of New Jersey Division of Risk Management.
Local police discipline records could add another layer of context to officer-involved vehicle incidents in the area, but the available source does not document the alleged suspension or incident.
A Corridor With a History of Pedestrian Deaths
The intersection named in Green’s lawsuit is not new to tragedy. In November 2025, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle at that same intersection of Route 9 and California Avenue, triggering a five-hour road closure and a joint investigation by Absecon Police and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, according to WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM.
The broader Route 9 and Route 30 corridor through Absecon has seen other serious pedestrian crashes over the years. In 2016, Absecon police and Atlantic County prosecutors investigated the death of a 26-year-old pedestrian struck near the nearby junction of Route 30 and Route 9, as reported by FOX 29 Philadelphia. And on December 26, 2021, two pedestrians were injured in a hit-and-run in Absecon, per WPG Talk Radio.
How Other New Jersey Cases Have Played Out
Separately, a Hackensack incident involved a New Jersey Transit bus striking two pedestrians. The same statutory standard applies to drivers generally.
Key questions remain open in Green’s case, including whether Ferrara was using lights or sirens while responding to an emergency call at the time of the turn, whether dashcam or bodycam footage recorded the incident, and whether county prosecutors or state traffic safety units issued summonses or administrative findings following the investigation. Green’s attorney has asked Absecon to produce police videos of the crash investigation as evidence, but it remains unclear whether the city has done so.
