1 dead during possible high-speed police pursuit in New Jersey

A person died during a high-speed law enforcement pursuit in a New Jersey neighborhood, with investigators looking into what may have happened.

The crash occurred around 1 p.m. Tuesday on Park Avenue in East Orange, officials said, leaving one person dead at what was believed to be a hit and run. A worker at a nearby school said the school was placed on lockdown for two hours, and he later emerged to see two smashed up cars, one of which had T-boned a parked ambulance where the airbag had deployed.

It was not known which law enforcement agency had been involved in the pursuit, nor was it clear which car was being pursued. It was also unclear if the driver who struck the pedestrian had been arrested.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office was at the scene, though the state attorney general’s office confirmed it was investigating the local matter. Typically, the attorney general’s office only gets involved in a civilian death when it is somehow connected to police activity.

Neither the prosecutor’s office nor the attorney general’s office released any information regarding the crash or the person who died.

One neighbor asked what role the police pursuit may have played in the crash.

“My kids live around here and go to school around here,” said the neighbor. “Why are you’ll chasing these cars and killing these innocent people…Now somebody lost their life out here on Park Avenue.”

An investigation is ongoing.