Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announces the following information related to the investigation of a fatal crash that occurred on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. This investigation is being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck, and the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, under the direction of Officer-in-Charge Lieutenant Jeffrey Werner.
On Thursday, March 6, 2025, at approximately 6:20 p.m., the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department responded to a serious crash involving four vehicles in the southbound direction of Route 17, near the intersection with Franklin Avenue. First responders from the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department, along with mutual aid from nearby jurisdictions, arrived on scene to render aid to those injured. One of the drivers of an involved vehicle, subsequently identified as 30-year-old Edwin B. Coreas of Bogota, NJ, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Several occupants of the other involved vehicles were transported to an area hospital with varying degrees of injuries.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and investigators from the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force were notified, responded to the scene, and initiated a joint investigation with the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department. Additionally, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the NJ Department of Transportation coordinated a full closure of the southbound highway by establishing detours around the incident.
The investigation has so far revealed that Edwin B. Coreas, operating an Isuzu box truck, collided with another vehicle on Route 17 southbound, followed by a chain-reaction crash involving two additional vehicles, resulting in a four-vehicle collision. Criminal charges are not expected, but the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision with the assistance of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit.
Prosecutor Mark Musella would like to thank the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation for their assistance in this investigation, along with the Ridgefield and Wyckoff Police Departments, which both participate in the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force. Prosecutor Musella would also like to thank the Hackensack, Little Ferry, and Wood-Ridge Fire Departments for their response and assistance with rescue efforts at the scene of this serious crash.
