Newark mayor blames ICE for high-speed crash that injured schoolchildren and others

Agents engaged in a high-speed chase with an individual and set off a chain-reaction crash that sent several people to the hospital.

Newark, New Jersey mayor Ras Baraka is blaming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for a chain-reaction crash on Wednesday that sent several people, including schoolchildren, to the hospital.

Baraka is calling for a state investigation.

Three siblings on their way to school via Lyft were in one of the vehicles hit in Wednesday’s crash, according to Newark Public Safety officials. According to witnesses and officials, the ICE agents’ pursuit ended when vehicles connected to their operation ran into three civilian vehicles.

Shamad Davis, one of the witnesses, says the incident began when ICE agents were chasing a man driving a work van at a high rate of speed.

“He flew up the hill and they started chasing him,” Davis said. “Next thing you know, it was a full collision and all three cars were totaled.”

The children complained of various injuries, prompting their mother to confront federal agents as emergency crews treated victims of the crash nearby. The incident was captured on video.

Baraka says the incident occurred due to an “illegal pursuit.”

“We’re going to use the police report and information we have and ask the governor and attorney general to take action and pursue this,” he said.

Following the crash, Baraka signed an executive order barring immigration enforcement operations in Newark city buildings without a judicial warrant. The order also directs city employees to report on suspected unauthorized federal enforcement activity.

The incident evoked memories of a crash in Georgia that led to the death of Dr. Linda Davis. Davis was killed when a traffic stop involving 38-year-old Oscar Vasquez Lopez led to him speeding off from ICE agents and then crashing into Davis’ car after a “reckless” U-turn and running a red light.

“Dr. Linda Davis was a beloved member of our school family and her loss has affected us deeply,” Hesse K-8 school wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.

“She always made you feel like you mattered,” Davis’ co-worker, Aisha Buchanan, told WTOC. “Whether they’re a custodian or a teacher, a principal, or even a student, you always matter. And that was her message to everybody.”