Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise has admitted that she was involved in a hit-and-run accident on Tuesday morning and was issued summonses, following news reports about the incident.
“I acknowledge this unfortunate event [on Tuesday] and I’m thankful that no one was seriously hurt,” she told Hudson County View in a statement. “While the traffic summons that was issued is dealt with in court, I will not be able to make any additional comment at this time.”
According to the Jersey Journal via a crash report, the incident took place at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, when a 29-year-old cyclist from Jersey City told police that he was riding his bike south of MLK Drive and had the green light at Forrest Street when he was struck by a black SUV going east on Forrest.
The report continued that the cyclist said he had pain in his left ankle and a laceration, and was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment. Police then identified via CCTV footage that DeGise’s vehicle, a Nissan Rogue, was involved in the crash.
The report also said that DeGise was issued two summonses, one for failure to report an accident and another for leaving the scene of an accident.
The incident was first reported on Tuesday by HudPost, and was followed by another report from Hudson County View, citing anonymous sources that DeGise was driving to County Prep High School at the time. The Jersey City Times had also reported from a source that HudPost’s story was accurate.
DeGise became a councilwoman after winning one of the three at-large seats in last year’s City Council elections. She was formerly the chairwoman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization and is the daughter of Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise.
Following the reports, BikeJC and SafeStreetsJC said in a joint statement that the public “deserves a full accounting from those involved and thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding this and every crash.”
“An elected leader must do better by their constituents,” they said. “Just as everyone else should, they must remain at the scene and render assistance to the injured. No one is above the law.”
The Jersey City Police Department directed press inquiries about the reported incident to a city spokesperson, who did not respond for comment.
For updates on this and other stories, check hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at mkoosau@hudsonreporter.com or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.
