CRIME

Lawsuit: NJ trooper was texting moments before he struck and killed teen

Asbury Park Press

WESTFIELD - An off-duty New Jersey State Trooper is being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl he killed while texting and driving in 2017, according to a report.

36-year-old Alexander Gelfand, of Cranford, is accused of texting a woman he met on the dating app Tinder moments before the fatal crash, according to a report. 

Theresa "Terry" DiFalco was participating in a scavenger hunt with her Westfield High School theater department peers, according to a report. Gelfand had finished working for the day and was driving an unmarked police vehicle when he struck DiFalco, according to a report. The accident occurred around 8:30 p.m. that night on Central Avenue near the intersection with Wyoming Street in Westfield, according to a report.

[ Want more New Jersey crime news? Make it even easier to read by downloading the Asbury Park Press app today. ]

“I had fun. You’re sweet and I want to see you again," Gelfand allegedly texted to a woman he had just met for the first time at her home in Matawan, according to the lawsuit. According the the suit, that text was allegedly sent just two minutes prior to the first 911 call reporting the accident.

DiFalco was pronounced dead at the scene, according to reports. Gelfand was not charged by Union County prosecutors in the crash, according to a report.

DiFalco's family filed the suit months after the crash, according to a report. The suit also names the New Jersey State Police and Westfield Board of Education as defendants, according to a report.

Monmouth County:  Driver read text minute before fatal crash, detective says

According to a report, Gelfand said in his deposition that he was looking straight ahead and did not see DiFalco as she was crossing Central Avenue.

He wasn't able to remember if he had his phone in the cup holder or balanced on his leg at the time of the crash, according to reports. Gelfand also could not recall if he had utilized his phone's voice activation capabilities to write the text message, according to a report.

Since 2012, New Jersey has had a law in place that considers the use of a cellphone while driving an act of recklessness that can form the basis for a vehicular homicide prosecution.

Texting-and-driving trial: Jury must decide 'Is she lying, or was it the truth?'

In Monmouth County, a Keansburg woman is on trial in what may be the first vehicular homicide trial in the state involving allegations of texting while driving. If the jury finds Alexandra Mansonet guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

Asbury Park Press reporter Kathy Hopkins contributed to this story.