Crash Report - 12/25/2025 EMS Strikes Two Pedestrians
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to New Brunswick City
Dear New Brunswick City,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under the OPRA, NJ Rev Stat § 39:4-131, and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested: a complete copy of the NJ-TR1 report for the motor vehicle crash incident on Remsen Avenue at approximately 9:36pm on 12/25/25. I previously requested a copy of this report in person from the records window, but I was informed it was not yet ready. I would like a complete, unredacted copy pursuant to common law as this incident involved a vehicle in service pursuant to a contract with the city government and funded by the county.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. Thanks.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Requestor,
Please see the attached documents responsive to your OPRA request. Thank
you.
Best Regards,
Shalon T. Bennett, RMC
Deputy Clerk
City of New Brunswick
City Clerk’s Office Rm 201
78 Bayard Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 745-5041 (phone)
(732) 745-5009 (fax)
Dear Deputy Clerk,
Please pass this response on to Captain Shah...
As I've noted previously, the NBPD is mistakenly applying the DPPA to my OPRA requests for crash reports. I've contacted an attorney who reviewed my request and your response, confirming my analysis is correct and your denial of access to the record is illegal: "They are wrong about the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act... That law prohibits 'a State Department of Motor Vehicles' from disclosing certain personal identifying information 'about any individual obtained by the department in connection with a motor vehicle record.'... 'Motor vehicle record means any record that pertains to a motor vehicle operator’s permit, motor vehicle title, motor vehicle registration, or identification card issued by a department of motor vehicles.' Clearly your request is to a police department, not the State MVC, and you do not seek a 'motor vehicle record.' In fact, the statute they cite – 18 USC 2725 – expressly says that 'personal information . . . does not include information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver’s status.'"
Please provide a copy of the requested report and stop erroneously applying the DPPA to my OPRA requests. If you are not willing to provide the record that I requested, I would respectfully ask for a meeting with Chief Sabo to discuss this issue before taking any further action to enforce my rights under the law.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Mr. Kratovil,
My office has received your email correspondence dated January 30, 2026.
The analysis of the DPPA you provide fails to account for the entire text
of the state and federal DPPA statutes. While it is true that the DPPA
applies to “a State Department of Motor Vehicles,” both the federal and
state versions of the statute further restrict the redisclosure of
personal information derived from motor vehicle records.
In the context of the accident report you requested, the New Brunswick
Police Department was an authorized recipient of personal information
sourced directly from NJ MVC records. The accident report was prepared by
officers using the “NJ Crash” reporting system. This system enables
officers to directly query the NJ MVC database and import driver
information and vehicle information into the report.
Redisclosure of that information, such as by release of an unredacted
accident report, is governed by the federal DPPA at 18 USC §2721(c) and
the state DPPA at N.J.S.A. 39:2-3.4(d)-(e). In fact, the New Jersey
statute unequivocally states that “any person who receives, from any
source, personal information from a motor vehicle record shall release or
disclose that information only in accordance with this act.” N.J.S.A.
39:2-3.4(e) (emphasis added).
Federal courts have acknowledged this limitation on redisclosure. See,
e.g., Gaston v. LexisNexis Risk Sols., 483 F.Supp.3d. 318 (W.D.N.C. 2020)
(holding that “to the extent that CMPD provides such records to the public
without redacting that personal information or limiting disclosure only
for those uses permitted by the DPPA then it is in violation of the
statute” whether or not they are “public records” and reasoning that “it
would completely undermine the purpose of the DPPA if a state could simply
designate a document containing personal information subject to DPPA
protection as a ‘public record’ and thereby avoid complying with its
restrictions”).
Your attorney’s contention that your request did not seek a “motor vehicle
record” is incorrect. While the crash report itself is not a motor vehicle
record within the definition of the statute, it contains personal
information derived directly from motor vehicle records, which is what the
DPPA protects.
Finally, your attorney’s statement that “personal information does not
include information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and
driver’s status” is correct but improperly applied. Information detailing
the vehicular accident itself has not been redacted from the report. The
data fields are unredacted, as is the crash narrative and diagram. No
information regarding driving violations has been redacted. The driver’s
DL class, restrictions, endorsements, and expiration date were left
unredacted on the report as they relate to driver’s status.
As previously stated, if your request falls under a specific “permissible
use” as defined by the DPPA, you may be entitled to receive the report
with fewer or no redactions. Please complete and return the attached form
if you believe you have a permissible use under the DPPA.
Regards,
Leslie R. Zeledón, City Clerk
City of New Brunswick
78 Bayard Street, Rm. 201
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732.745.5041 (phone)
732.745.5009 (fax)
Dear Ms. Zeledon,
Following up on this request regarding a motor vehicle crash that occurred in the city on Christmas Day 2025. I still have not received the record in question. On February 12, you made it clear that you were standing by previous denials of my requests for an unredacted copy of the crash report, but it was equally clear that the city would be willing to release the record with certain information redacted. Please waive any fees and provide whatever you're willing to provide under OPRA, Title 39, and the common law right of access.
Thank you. Have a nice day.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Mr. Kratovil,
The Clerk’s Office is in receipt of your follow-up email regarding your OPRA request from December 2025, logged as OPRA 12.12_1288. As stated in our previous responses, the City will release the redacted copy of the crash report upon receipt of the $5.00 fee for reports delivered electronically, or in the alternative you may pick up a copy of the report from the Police Records Room for a fee of $0.05 per page.
Regards,
Leslie R. Zeledón, City Clerk
City of New Brunswick
78 Bayard Street, Rm. 201
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732.745.5041 (phone)
732.745.5009 (fax)