When federal prosecutors indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife last month, questions arose as to why his then girlfriend Nadine Arslanian (now Menendez) allegedly needed a new car in 2019.
The Mercedes was given to her as part of a bribery conspiracy scheme, prosecutors say, and newly released police records may show the reason why.
New dashcam video, first obtained by northjersey.com, shows the moments after Menendez hit and killed Richard Koop as he attempted to cross a street in Bogota, New Jersey, nearly five years ago. She was later found not at fault.
On December 12, 2018, at approximately 7:36 p.m., police were dispatched to Main Street for a pedestrian struck by a car. When cops arrived, they saw Richard Koop laying on the road with “severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face, and possible fractured legs and arms."
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The driver who police say hit Koop, 49, with her Mercedes was identified as Nadine Arslanian.
Police say she was driving a black Mercedes. Arslanian told police that she had an injury to her hand and police say they asked her for consent to search her cell phone.
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“Ms. Arslanian originally reported I may search her phone, handed me her phone, then shortly after reported she no longer gives consent for a cellular phone search. I immediately returned Ms. Arslanian’s phone back to her,” the responding officer's report said.
Police said she gave a statement stating that Koop “darted across traffic and jumped onto her vehicle.” Investigators determined she was not at fault and said “Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.”
Koop's family is furious, claiming she did nothing to help the father dying in the road.
"She did nothing to come and render any aid. She moved her car out of the way but she never came, for the entire length of the video that I was given, she never came to look at him, didn't even she never check to see if he’s alive," attorney Sheri Breen said.
The report states that Arslanian’s vehicle sustained “heavy front end damage due to the collision” and “her front windshield was shattered and had damage on the passenger side which was later determined to be from a parked car that she struck after striking Mr. Koop.”
The FBI says the senator and his wife got the car from Jose Uribe, in exchange, the senator allegedly offered to help interfere in a criminal case Uribe was concerned about.
The senator and his wife, along with three New Jersey businessmen all deny the bribery charges.
Sen. Menendez addressed the crash Wednesday for the first time, amid growing calls for his resignation.
"That was a tragic accident and obviously we think of the family," he told reporters. His wife's attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
