Suzanne Russell

@SRussellMyCJ

The accident sparked outcry from residents who say speeding drivers don't yield to pedestrians

The traffic pattern on Livingston Avenue was changed after the accident

The road-narrowing project was part of a "road diet" plan presented in a Rutgers University studyRawls

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – For Romeo Pelaez, the $206 fine given to New Brunswick Fire Director Robert Rawls after pleading guilty Tuesday to careless driving during a May accident that injured his daughter and two other children is just another sign of inequality among the social classes.

He said Rawls, who earns about $150,000 as fire director, is rich, but yet was fined only $206. He also has to pay court costs.

"It happens everywhere. When the people is poor nobody says anything, nobody know nothing" said Pelaez, adding emergency medical personnel who initially responded to the accident seemed more concerned about Rawls' welfare than the children. He said Rawls was put in an ambulance while his daughter was still lying on the ground.

His daughter Jocelyn, 15, has metal tubes and rods in her leg as a result of the May 6 accident along Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. She's undergone two surgeries and could face more. She initially had to use crutches to walk. She has doctor appointments every 15 days. She suffered a concussion and has no memory of the accident.

"I'll never be the same again," she said Tuesday after the municipal court hearing. "I don't have a normal life anymore."

Pelaez said he and his wife couldn't work for two months because they had to stay home to care for their daughter. They lost two months of pay.

The family plans to file a civil suit against Rawls and the City of New Brunswick, according to their attorney, Howard Buckner of Edison. Buckner said in New Jersey no specific amount can be sought in a civil lawsuit.

Municipal Court Judge Michael Dowgin ruled Rawls' guilty plea cannot be used in the civil suit.

Rawls said nothing during or after the court proceeding. His fine will be paid to New Brunswick.

His attorney, Thomas Buck of Milltown, said the incident was an accident, adding that there were cars parked on Livingston Avenue.

"Livingston Avenue has been completely reconfigured since this accident," Buck said. "Accidents happen. People come out from behind parked cars. That happens. There were cars parked on Livingston Avenue, where if someone comes from between those cars you are not going to see them until the last moment."

Buck said Rawls accepts responsibility for the accident and apologizes with his plea.

"As of today he has no points (on his drivers license). My client does not speed around New Brunswick," said Buck, adding as head of the fire department there are times he has to drive fast.

Buck said the case was investigated by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the New Brunswick Police Department and speeding, drugs, alcohol and use of his work and personal cell phones were ruled out as factors in the accident.

With no aggravating factors, Jeremy Solomon, the municipal prosecutor said the only conclusion is the accident resulted from the lack of focus on Rawls part. He adding ordinarily when he sees an accident with these types of injuries he wants to seek a significant penalty, but with this case there were no aggravating factors other than the injuries and some prior accidents.

"The simple fact is the defendant just drove carelessly and tragically caused the injuries," Solomon said.

Rawls was issued tickets for careless driving and failing to stop for a pedestrian on a crosswalk following the May 6 accident on Livingston Avenue in which three children were struck by his city vehicle. The failure-to-stop charge was dismissed in court.

The children were hit around 3:34p.m. as they were crossing Livingston Avenue at Delavan Street on their way home from school. The accident left two 14-year-old girls — Jocelyn Pelaez and Arly Melquiadez — and Arly's brother, John Mejia, 6, with broken bones and other injuries. They were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Ron Morgan, a Newark based-attorney, representing Arly Melquiadez, said she broke her pelvis in the accident while her brother suffered cuts and scratches. The siblings' mother questioned why Rawls didn't see the three children. She said the whole family has been traumatized by the accident.

The accident sparked an outcry from the city's Latino community.

Residents demanded safety improvements along Livingston Avenue, a four-lane road on which there are nearly three-dozen accidents each year. Residents complained that speeding vehicles don't yield to pedestrians.

Rawls, who was appointed fire director in 2006, allegedly has had a number of motor-vehicle accidents. The day of the accident, a television news station, citing the Motor Vehicle Commission, reported that Rawls has had 19 accidents over 38 years, including one just six weeks prior to the accident involving the schoolchildren, one last year, two in 2012 and three in 2009 and in 2008.

Dowgin, however, said many of the accidents were years ago and he had no moving violations.

A week after the accident, police announced lane changes along Livingston Avenue, narrowing the traffic flow to a single lane in each direction between Delavan and Baldwin streets and between Elizabeth and Loretta streets, with the center lane for turns. Livingston Avenue has two lanes in each direction, with no turning lanes, in other parts of the city.

The road-narrowing project was part of the pilot phase of a "road diet" presented in a Rutgers University study commissioned by the city and Middlesex County. The Middlesex County Board of Freeholders agreed to fast-track the plan after the accident and the outcry from residents.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com