Foley’s SUV in the Atlantic Highlands wrecking yard where it was towed after the accident. (Photo courtesy of Rumson PD)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
A motorist crashed into the telephone pole and wires downed by former Fair Haven Fire Chief Shaun Foley in the November 22 Rumson wreck that led to his being charged with drunken driving, according to records obtained by redbankgreen.
Police reports on the accident also reveal that Foley tried to flee the scene in his heavily damaged fire department vehicle before it conked out just a block away, in front of Rumson’s Borough Hall.
As previously reported, 27-year-old Foley, who worked as a Rumson police dispatcher and part-time policeman, then took off on foot to the Oceanic Bridge, a mile away, where he jumped into the Navesink River, prompting a massive rescue effort involving helicopters and boats.
The 17 pages of reports, though, give the first official indication of the earliest stages of the drama that began unfolding shortly before 6p that Sunday evening.
The same vehicle under wraps at the Fair Haven public works yard this afternoon. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
In taking down a pole on East River Road, between Meadowbrook and Maplewood avenues, Foley knocked out electrical power to streetlights in the area, the reports say. That, in turn, caused an Ocean Township man, Robert Walsh, to smash his car into the downed utility pole. The report says Walsh told police he didn’t see the wreckage. He was uninjured.
According to a witness’ account in the report, Foley was traveling north when he struck the pole with the front passenger side of the 2006 white Chevrolet Suburban. He hen tried to drive away with its damaged, laboring motor before the vehicle came to stop 800 feet away, police say.
The initial crash was called in by a passing motorist. Calling in almost simultaneously was off-duty police Sergeant Peter Koenig, who lives nearby; he heard the crash, followed by the revving sound of an engine, he says.
According to Koenig’s written account, the vehicle that brought down the pole wasn’t at the scene when he arrived. By then, Walsh had already hit the downed pole.
Koenig says he found Foley’s vehicle, with its familiar fire department markings, in front of the town hall a block away. The steering-wheel airbag had deployed, and a wallet and cell phone were in the truck, but the driver was nowhere in sight.
That set off a search that included surrounding police and EMS crews. Meanwhile, Rumson officers secured the East River Road scene to prevent additional crashes.
According to information released earlier by police Chief Ricky Tobias, Foley had fled north on foot. He was spotted on the northern side of the Oceanic Bridge by Little Silver police officer Gregory Oliva, but ignored Oliva’s request that he get into the officer’s car. Instead, at 6:14, Foley plunged over the bridge’s western flank into the river, one of the reports says.
Emergency service personnel from across the region, including a dive team from Fair Haven and helicopters belonging to the Coast Guard, State Police and Monmouth County Mosquito Control Commission, were mustered to try to find and rescue Foley.
After nearly 45 minutes, at 6:56p, Foley was rescued from the water beneath the bridge on the Rumson side, put on a stretcher behind Salt Creek Grille and given medical attention.
Foley was read his Miranda rights in the ambulance by a Rumson officer, who rode with him in the Fair Haven Rescue Squad ambulance to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune. Enroute, Foley signed a consent form allowing two vials of blood to be drawn for alcohol content testing, according to the record.
Koenig said the blood sample was sent to the New Jersey State Police for testing, and results could take anywhere between a week to a month to return to the borough.
Foley, who was not seriously injured, was charged with DWI, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report and reckless driving. A municipal court trial on the charges will be held in a town other than Rumson, but no new venue had been settled on yesterday, Foley’s attorney, Mitchell Ansell said.
As reported yesterday by redbankgreen, Foley crashed another fire department vehicle into a utility pole in Fair Haven in March, 2008. There were no charges filed. According to today’s Asbury Park Press, the Chevy SUV was declared totaled by the borough’s insurance carrier, and borough officials conducted a review of policies covering the use of town-owned or insured vehicles.
So the whole “suicide” angle was indeed a cover up.
Is anyone going to be held accountable?Since it has to do with a public sector job I’ll assume that there is no accountability to blatant lying to the public.
Hmmmmm. 2ed time crash ,DWI ….insurance premiums going up up up in town ! ……better call GICO
Monmouth County Mosquito Control Commission helicopter on the scene……classic. Between this and the previous report about the team of dopes who rolled all the fire trucks onto the structurally challenged bridge, you have the real makings of a comedy for the ages. And then Rosco P. Coltrane & Deputy Enos saving the day at the public works yard. Oh, and I forgot, the fire chief jumped in the river. The story that just keeps giving…..
Vote for your favorite moment:
1. The dive
2. Mosquito control
3. Bridge braces
4. The bust
I hope that when this is all said and done that Dustin puts together a recap. I will print it out and keep it next to the turlit.
taxpayer- you really do think you are entitled to everything? COVER UP? what are they covering the man was arrested and charged? that is all the police do for anything- investigate and arrest and charge if they can. they obviously did so what is the cover up? did rpd or fhpd cover the kenneddy assasination or have something to do with 9/11?
Dustin’s reporting takes me back to when I was a wee kid. Who remembers the Brady Bunch, when Peter becomes “Scoop Brady,” and uses his column in the school paper to win friends and influence people? I see a future job at the NY Times for this young reporter!
Enough-
It is obvious that you are either Shaun Foley or his Mom–please leave as you have no sympathy here.
Let’s get him boys
enough- you are correct that police only do their job and sometimes act according to the instructions of their superiors (who answer to higher political influences) who in this instance are being questioned by many . The police is only the front line ie; enforcement & the appearance of justice. Behind the scenes it gets pretty fuzzy; 1. no evidence (no one bothered) 2. no press (could ruin appearances), 3. change venue (golf buddy judge?), 4. no doubt the prosecutor has no case ( Mayor Halfacre) as there is NO evidence of DUI or reckless driving (no surprise there) since Foley is claiming innocence (foot cramp?) Heard he was spending some Time at the psyche ward? Next thing we might hear is a “save Foley Foundation” for the poor misunderstood crony.
Fortunately many in the area are becoming aware of the fuzzy business going on in the area for quite some time. News, public exposure and forum by those who are intellectually ethical have a positive effect IMO. sometimes It forces the status quo to do the right thing whether they like it or not.
I vote for # 1
Vote #1…red bank green thank you for following up on this story!
I vote for #1 as long as it is called the “Drunken Irishman” more commonly known as the “belly flop”
Wait a minute, if you had the picture from Atlantic Highlands, why did you need to go to the DPW for another picture???
Smells like a set up
#1 is bound to be an enduring classic and also has my vote
Foley’s error is going to reflect poorly on a lot of people. I’m pissed the police didn’t cite him the first time he was driving drunk, all of this could have been avoided, but his blunder will not make me less appreciative of the volunteer work the rest of the FHFD does.
I don’t think enough people stop to think of the commitment these men and women take on and how much money is saved through their service. Keep criticizing the department as a whole if you want to be ignorant but also be prepared for tax increases if a paid department is installed.
The second photo at the Public Works supports the “cover up” theory in a very physical way.
Come on Laura in NJ, isn’t that how you park your car all the time, with a big tarp covering part of it? I do! Get with it! Hehe, kidding obviously.
Laura–Why do you say that? A legal coverup? The pics of the car had already been taken for purposes of the Rumson investigation. There were many witnesses at the site in Rumson. What does DPW have to do with the investigation? Do you think they were going to secretly hammer out the dents, and “voila!”, the car magically fixed so that someone (who?) could claim that there was never an accident?
An intelligent person would look at the blue tarp and say, “Oh, that must be that Chief’s car from the accident.”
Maybe this was upsetting to the town, embarrassing, and they simply didn’t want to have it as a constant reminder to passersby. SO, yes, maybe “covering it up” with a tarp takes the Public relations sting out of the event, but it isn’t covering up an investigation.
A guy had dui. He cracked up the car. It got damaged. The damage was recorded by investigators. What cover-up?
Your comment is inflammatory, and frankly, a bit silly. Posters should really think beyond their witty, sarcastic remarks and really ask if it helps the conversation here.
Public reaction was too strong for a clean sweep under the carpet of this case. Hopefully because of the news coverage and public reaction, the process of justice might be followed without any funny business. (but I won’t hold my breath) “cover ups” at least in NJ take place in court where if no evidence is produced (or conveniently lost or ignored) defendants can and do get away with a slap on the hand. Kudos to RBG for covering this news event as investigating reporters, and thats saying a lot for NJ news.
be smart -
Do you think the guys who surrounded the SUV with garbage trucks to prevent a reporter from snapping shots did that to cover something up or to be inflammatory?
I really doubt a cover up is in motion, but I am amazed what some people who work for Fair Haven have done to plant the seed of doubt.
no one has stated the obvious. covering a car that MAY be repairable makes sense. If the car isn’t totalled it is responsible to protect the front end from further damage. in fact, most insurance companies have this statement in their policies: “…Take reasonable steps to protect your car from further damage.”
“…while you should wait for a claims adjuster to assess the damage, you don’t need to wait to protect your car from further loss. In general, once the police have taken the evidence they need from your vehicle and have given you the OK to move your car, you should take steps to prevent any further damage or loss to it.” Progressive.com
Perhaps I am naive, or just won’t subscribe to conspiracy theories…
I just find it disturbing at how suspicion is immediately cast upon the law enforcement community. These people serve and protect us honorably everyday.
Are they imperfect? Yes. Are they human?
Last time I checked, they were.
Do they do a job that most of us can’t/won’t/ don’t want to do?
Yes and we should be lauding their courage as opposed to automatically assuming that they are incompetent or engaged in illegal behavior.
What I see in some of these postings in basically the equivalent of racial stereotyping, except that the group being stereotyped, are brave men and women who pledge to serve and protect, all of us, regardless of who we are..
Hey Fat Cat,
When and where was it ever mentioned, other than someones opinion in a posting of the original article, that his first accident was the result of his being DWI?
As far as I have been able to ascertain from the news reports he was not DWI in the first accident. All it took was one person to suggest it in their post and off to the races everyone else went.
Also, a comment was made recently that because no further mention of his jumping off the bridge was a suicide attempt, this has now a cover up. It amazes me that so many people reading these news reports do not comprehend what they are reading.
I vote for #1
… and Boss Hog needs to get Enus and Roscoe out collecting leaves. If Daisy shows up all is forgiven.
Thank you, JM. Now *that’s* a smart post. My point exactly.
I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something, something I can use
People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry
Well, I could’ve been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don’t have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear, give us dirty laundry
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em all around
We got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde, comes on at 5
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It’s interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
Get the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry
You don’t really need to find out what’s going on
You don’t really want to know just how far it’s gone
Just leave well enough alone, keep your dirty laundry
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down
Kick ‘em when they’re stiff, kick ‘em all around
Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody’s pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry
We can do the innuendo, we can dance and sing
When it’s said and done, we haven’t told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry
you guys are losers…
Sounds like Dustin is out for the Fair Haven boys. He had a picture of the truck when it was in Atlantic Highlands. Why would there be such a big deal to get another picture in Fair Haven? Two guys were murdered in Red Bank a while back did not get this coverage. He seems to be fueling this yellow journalism to get attention. If you see a person with a wearing a FHFD jacket, tell them you are behind them 100% and fire company members wear your jacket with pride you do great things for many people. If you hear the horns during your football game today know somebody is missing the game NOT YOU! Somebody’s mom or dad has left them to help you. Dustin, shame on you! Shame on your editor for hiring a punk kid to report this crap! A man was murdered in Long Branch, where is that story? Afraid of the real stories?
Jussayin, redbankgreen was all over the double murder in Red Bank, check the archives.
The attention drawn by this event is that more is expected of our public servants.
Ironic one of the accused killers lived in Fair Haven.
What’s funny about this entire situation is the fact that you people have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Shaun Foley made a huge mistake. A mistake which anyone of you could make at anytime. You would all be kidding yourself to believe that you or someone you know has not made a similar (probably much less severe) error in judgement. This individual messed up big time, but I would venture to believe none of you are saints. Your comments on this website are absolutely sickening. What most of you fail to remember is: HE IS HUMAN. This could have been a doctor, a lawyer, or a school teacher. However, because he is a police officer, he should be held on a higher standard apparently. Foley made a huge mistake and should be punished, but what you people should really think about is the fact that no one was seriously injured and no one was killed. You would rather but caught up in the drama surrounding a cop. What I love to see is the fact that you people are so interested in this situation merely because it is a police officer. However, I would bet money that maybe 10 individuals out of the hundreds of you who left comments wouldn’t have the respect to atleast show a police officer some respect when it was actually due. Police officers go out on a daily basis and risk their lives. Whether this be in Rumson or whether this be Camden and all you continuously just rag on them over and over again. Would it kill you all to look past the fact that this was a police officer, and notice that in the end this is just a human being who made an error? Maybe you people should use your intelligence to actually find out the facts about this case rather than post your premature invalid opinions. And this big “cover up” theory you people all have manifested, it has absolutely no merit. Had this been some type of evil cop conspiracy, would he had been issued any tickets? Just like Foley should have taken the time to think before he completed this actions, maybe you should all sit back and think before you give your opinions.
youngpeopleareclueless,
I think you are mistaken that most on this site are anti-police or anti-fire/first aid. I think everyone appreciates all of the help they provide. Most of the negativity has really been about drinking and driving and drinking at firehouses as well as looking the other way when it involves friends of the people responsible for enforcement. I know for a fact that cops do not arrest fellow cops. I am friendly with many cops having grown up with them before they became cops. The hour that this person decided to drive drunk has early in the evening when families might be driving and could have been injured or worse. Those in law enforcement and first aid/fire should be the first to understand that. As for people doing studid drunkin’ things, you are probably right that more have than have not, but this one tops any story I have ever heard. He crashes and knocks the pole across the road in a fire vehicle, runs, does the Irish Splash to swim with the dolphins and then they call out every agency they can think of to go find him and then carry him off to the hospital in front of a restaurant full of people. Now that is a classic story!
Wonder what happened to the lady who was hit and injured by our former mayor? Seems that there was no follow up on that one…was she found guilty of throwing herself at his car after leaving the hospital?
Tomatosauce,
You are correct. Didn’t she illegally cross the street in front of Tomato Benz because they had removed the yield to pedestrian signs that day due to snow. Thank God the car was ok. The lady probably got a new no-show state job to make it go away. Nothin’ better than being able to throw money at your problems to make them disappear.
Youngpeopleareclueless,
YES, when your job and which you are sworn to do is to ‘UPHOLD and PROTECT the LAW’…YES cops should held to higher standards. If they cannot hold to that higher standard, then that is not the career for them. Go do something else. Is that so hard to understand? Instead its seems it’s quite the opposite. Often they are the one’s using their power to uphold and protect the law to break the law themselves and get away with it.
We need to bifurcate this situation into two parts:
1)There is Mr Foley who has to be dealt with in the courts etc…that’s it. To me, that’s now in their hands.
2) There is the much bigger question of how all the public officials surrounding this situation handled it. After the first accident, the strange circumstances that surrounded it. Then how this was first attempted to be called a suicide attempt, again to try to deflect attention from what really had occured. Attempts to chase the press away…and on and on were the misteps of all involved.
Investigations need to be done into the people surrounding this and what lead up to it….but of course now the spot light is on, all the cock roaches start scurrying around for cover.
Hey Dustin Racioppi, how about the Mckenna dem-mobile? How about a follow up with the hospital employee that now walks with a cane? Running from Troopers to avoid a DWI. You have got to be kidding me. Do you have pictures of that person in the hospital and again at home? probably not. It would be the same picture without and additional drama. Did you get a picture of the chief’s car again this week? The APP knows how to get a picture. They request permission then take a picture. That’s how a professional does it.