By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-09-09 10:16:08 | Updated at 2026-09-09 11:00:29
45 minutes ago
An illegal alien fleeing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation ran a red light and slammed into a vehicle driven by the wife of a Democratic New Jersey Mayor. Dr. Penelope Cohen, whose husband Brad Cohen serves as mayor of East Brunswick, suffered a leg injury and was taken to a hospital following the September 2nd crash. The driver abandoned his damaged Acura and attempted to escape on foot before ICE agents arrested him.
The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. along heavily traveled Route 130 in North Brunswick. Federal agents had stopped the Acura as part of a targeted immigration-enforcement operation, while local police said their officers were not involved in the initial stop. North Brunswick officers responded only after the collision to handle the crash and related public-safety concerns.
According to ICE, the driver refused to leave the Acura despite repeated verbal warnings from federal officers. Agents attempted to remove the driver from the vehicle over what the agency described as officer-safety concerns. Instead of complying, the man allegedly sped away, drove through a red light, and struck Cohen’s Tesla before fleeing on foot.
As Fox News reported, ICE agents apprehended the man shortly after the wreck. The agency had not publicly released his identity or detailed the immigration violation that prompted the operation. ICE said he was arrested for violating federal immigration law and would “receive due process” while remaining in custody pending removal proceedings.
“After repeated verbal warnings and due to officer safety concerns, ICE officers relied on their training and attempted to safely remove the illegal alien [from their car],” an ICE spokesperson said. “The illegal alien then proceeded to flee at a high rate of speed and collided with other vehicles.” Cohen’s injuries were not considered life-threatening, while the crash caused heavy traffic delays on Route 130.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat whose district includes the crash site, responded by blaming the federal agency. “Today, it appears an ICE involved car chase resulted in an accident involving the wife of the Mayor of East Brunswick,” she wrote. “ICE’s lawlessness is putting innocent people in harms way. #AbolishICE.”
See Fox News’ coverage of the crash and the resulting backlash here:
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https://x.com/wakeupnj/status/2095323097771409918
Republican state lawmakers rejected Watson Coleman’s response and connected the wreck to New Jersey policies restricting cooperation between local authorities and ICE. Assemblyman Paul Kanitra accused Democrats of refusing to accept responsibility for the consequences of those policies. “This is just the latest in a long line of traffic incidents and vehicular incidents that wouldn’t occur if New Jersey didn’t have our sanctuary status that got codified as soon as Gov. Sherrill came into office,” Kanitra said.
State Senator Mike Testa argued that New Jersey should allow more local agencies to enter 287(g) agreements permitting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “This illegal alien was stopped lawfully by federal authorities, ran through a red light, fleeing federal authorities and unfortunately ran into the mayor of East Brunswick’s wife,” Testa said. He also criticized Watson Coleman for demanding the abolition of ICE “rather than actually punishing the criminal that put multiple citizens’ lives at risk.”
Testa said the crash demonstrated the need for stronger cooperation between federal, state, and local authorities. He accused Governor Mikie Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats of supporting policies that make it more difficult for ICE to arrest and remove illegal immigrants. “You know, I’m a child of the 80s — and the old American Express commercial was ‘membership has its privileges’ — well, citizenship should have its privileges,” Testa said.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded post.
