Passaic County Car Accident Lawyer

Passaic County is North Jersey’s most densely traveled corridor — a county of 525,000 residents packed between the George Washington Bridge and the edge of the Highlands, crossed by Interstate 80, Route 3, Route 21, Route 46, and Route 208, and threaded with urban surface streets in Paterson, Clifton, Passaic City, and Wayne that carry accident risk at every hour of the day and night.

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office has opened multiple fatality investigations in this county in the past two years — all announced directly by Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes.

On October 4, 2025, at approximately 8:12 a.m., the Clifton Police Department was notified of an unresponsive woman found on the side of Route 21 North near the Exit 9 entrance ramp onto Route 3 West in Clifton. Broken pieces from a motor vehicle were scattered nearby. The woman — Kamaya Young, 20, of Paterson — was pronounced deceased. An investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Clifton Police Department determined she had been struck by a 2021 Porsche Cayenne operated by Jose Morillo, 58, of Garfield, who fled the scene. On February 2, 2026, Prosecutor Valdes announced that Morillo had been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death — a crime of the second degree.

On March 12, 2025, at approximately 11:39 a.m., a Chevrolet Trailblazer operated by a 35-year-old woman from Madison was traveling at a high rate of speed on Getty Avenue in Clifton when it struck a Honda Civic, then a Dodge Ram truck, then a Toyota RAV4, and finally a Volkswagen Jetta — five vehicles involved in a chain-reaction collision at the intersection of Getty Avenue and Crooks Avenue. The driver of the Honda Civic — a 52-year-old man from Newton — was transported to Saint Joseph’s University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Prosecutor Valdes announced the investigation. Surviving victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

On April 10, 2024, at approximately 11:15 p.m., Rachel McNeil, 58, was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Passaic Avenue and Aycrigg Avenue in Passaic City. She was transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and died two days later. More than six months after the crash, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Passaic Police Department identified and charged Grzegorz Wolak, a Clifton resident, in connection with the fatal hit-and-run.

On June 4, 2025, at approximately 2:55 a.m., an unknown large commercial vehicle — possibly a tractor-trailer — traveling eastbound on I-80 near milepost 59.5 in Paterson, near Exit 60 for Hawthorne and Clifton, struck a pedestrian and fled. The victim was pronounced dead. New Jersey State Police are actively investigating and have sought public assistance in identifying the vehicle.

These are the roads Passaic County residents drive, walk, and commute on every day.

If you or someone you love was hurt in a Passaic County car accident, you need one of the top car accident lawyers in Passaic County — an attorney who understands these specific roads, this county’s courts, and the full legal complexity of crashes involving hit-and-run drivers, commercial vehicles, and chain-reaction collisions in dense urban corridors.

The Law Offices of Raffi T. Khorozian P.C. maintains two offices directly in Passaic County — at 600 Getty Avenue, Suite 108, Clifton, NJ 07011 and 999 Riverview Drive, 2nd Floor, Totowa, NJ 07512. We have represented New Jersey accident victims since 1993 — over 30 years. We are recognized among the best car accident lawyers in Passaic County because we charge only 25% — not the 33⅓% standard at most New Jersey personal injury firms. On a $150,000 settlement, that is $12,500 more that stays with you.

📞 Call (973) 647-2981 or toll-free (888) 658-4284 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Free consultation. No fee unless we win.

Why We’re the Best Car Accident Lawyers in Passaic County

30+ years of focused New Jersey personal injury experience. Attorney Raffi T. Khorozian has been licensed in New Jersey since 1993, practicing personal injury law — not rotating across practice areas. That focus matters when your case involves a hit-and-run investigation timeline, commercial vehicle FMCSA regulations, or a multi-vehicle chain-reaction crash where liability is disputed across five defendants.

Two offices in Passaic County itself. Our Clifton office at 600 Getty Avenue sits one block from the intersection of Getty Avenue and Crooks Avenue where the March 2025 five-vehicle fatal crash occurred. Our Totowa office at 999 Riverview Drive serves Route 46 and Route 3 corridor clients. We are inside this county — not serving it from a distance.

25% — the fee that leaves more of your recovery where it belongs. Most New Jersey personal injury firms charge 33⅓%. We charge 25%. On a $200,000 recovery, that difference is $16,667 in your pocket. On $300,000, you keep $25,000 more.

Trial-ready from day one. Insurance companies know which attorneys actually take cases to verdict. We prepare every Passaic County case for trial from the beginning, which produces fair settlement offers before trial is necessary.

Passaic County’s Most Dangerous Roads — What Official Records Show

Route 21 in Clifton produced the October 2025 fatal hit-and-run — a young woman found dead on the roadside near the Exit 9/Route 3 West ramp after being struck by a Porsche Cayenne whose driver fled. Route 21 is a six-lane divided state highway that serves as a primary connector between Clifton, Paterson, and Newark, carrying high-volume mixed traffic where pedestrian exposure is significant at access ramps and intersection approaches.

Getty Avenue and Crooks Avenue, Clifton was the site of the March 2025 fatal five-vehicle chain-reaction. A single speeding Chevy Trailblazer struck four other vehicles in sequence — Honda Civic, Dodge Ram, Toyota RAV4, Volkswagen Jetta — along Getty Avenue’s commercial corridor before coming to rest. This is the type of high-speed intersection crash that produces complex multi-party liability: the speeding driver bears primary fault, but insurance coverage across five vehicles, potential road design factors, and the commercial density of the Getty Avenue corridor all become relevant to full recovery.

Passaic Avenue and Aycrigg Avenue, Passaic City was the site of the April 2024 fatal pedestrian hit-and-run that took Rachel McNeil’s life. Urban pedestrian corridors in Passaic City, Paterson, and Clifton carry documented nighttime crash risk where limited lighting, high pedestrian density, and vehicle speed combine to produce injuries that are disproportionately fatal.

Interstate 80 near milepost 59.5, Paterson is the site of the June 2025 fatal commercial vehicle hit-and-run. I-80 at this location approaches Exit 60 (Hawthorne/Clifton), creating the lane-change and deceleration dynamics that put pedestrians on the shoulder at maximum risk from inattentive or impaired commercial drivers who fail to recognize a person in the roadway until it is too late.

Route 46 runs east-west through the heart of Passaic County’s commercial zone. Route 3, Route 208, and the dense surface street network of Paterson — particularly Market Street, Main Street, and Broadway — produce the highest per-square-mile crash density of any area in the county.

Unique Liability Angles in Passaic County Car Accident Cases

Hit-and-run claims and uninsured motorist coverage. Three of the four documented fatality incidents above involved drivers who fled the scene. When a hit-and-run driver is identified and charged — as in both the Route 21/Clifton case and the Passaic Avenue case — the criminal proceedings produce evidence that directly supports the civil liability claim. When the driver remains unidentified — as in the I-80 Paterson commercial vehicle case — New Jersey’s uninsured motorist (UM) coverage becomes the primary recovery mechanism. We pursue UM claims immediately and simultaneously with efforts to identify the at-fault driver.

Second-degree criminal charges → civil liability. When a driver is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident — a second-degree crime in New Jersey — that criminal charge and subsequent proceedings create a parallel evidentiary record that is directly relevant to the civil case. We coordinate civil strategy with the criminal timeline from day one.

Commercial vehicle liability on I-80. The June 2025 I-80 Paterson hit-and-run involved a large commercial vehicle — possibly a tractor-trailer. Federal FMCSA regulations, carrier insurance policies, black box data, and driver logs are all time-sensitive evidence. We issue preservation demands immediately.

Multi-vehicle chain-reaction liability. The March 2025 Getty Avenue crash involved five vehicles from a single initiating collision. Identifying the primary at-fault party, assessing comparative liability across all involved drivers, and identifying every available insurance policy requires the type of multi-defendant civil case strategy that experience specifically in Passaic County’s urban corridor environment produces.

Which Court Handles Passaic County Car Accident Cases

Personal injury cases from Passaic County are filed at the Passaic County Superior Court, Civil Division, located at 77 Hamilton Street, Paterson, NJ 07505.

Attorney Raffi T. Khorozian and our team have represented Passaic County clients for over 30 years, with direct knowledge of how this court evaluates urban pedestrian claims, hit-and-run cases, commercial vehicle liability, and multi-vehicle chain-reaction crashes.

New Jersey Insurance Rules — What Passaic County Drivers Need to Know

No-fault PIP coverage pays initial medical expenses after a crash regardless of fault — but does not cover pain and suffering, future medical costs beyond your policy limit, or permanent disability.

Uninsured motorist coverage (UM) for hit-and-run. When the at-fault driver flees — as in the Route 21, Passaic Avenue, and I-80 cases documented above — your own UM policy is the primary recovery path. In cases where the driver is later identified and charged, both the UM claim and the direct liability claim can be pursued.

The serious injury threshold. Fractures, herniated discs, permanent limitation of a body function, significant scarring, or substantial medical costs allow you to step outside no-fault and pursue full pain and suffering damages against the at-fault driver. High-speed crashes on Route 21, I-80, and Route 46 regularly produce qualifying injuries.

Second-degree hit-and-run criminal charges. Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-129, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death is a second-degree crime in New Jersey. When a driver faces this charge — as Jose Morillo did in the Route 21 case — the criminal record and proceedings directly support the civil liability claim.

Modified comparative negligence. New Jersey reduces your recovery by your fault percentage. In pedestrian crashes in urban corridors, insurers attempt to argue that victims crossed improperly. We counter with crosswalk documentation, signal timing records, and road condition evidence.

Two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. Government vehicle involvement triggers a Tort Claims Act 90-day notice requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions — Passaic County Car Accidents

What makes a car accident lawyer the best in Passaic County, NJ? The best car accident lawyer in Passaic County combines 30+ years of focused New Jersey personal injury experience, two offices physically located in Passaic County, a proven willingness to take cases to trial, direct attorney involvement throughout the case, and a fee that maximizes recovery. Attorney Raffi T. Khorozian has been licensed in New Jersey since 1993, maintains offices on Getty Avenue in Clifton and on Riverview Drive in Totowa, and charges only 25% — not 33⅓%. Every case is prepared for trial from day one.

The driver who hit me in Passaic County fled the scene. What are my options? You have two primary paths simultaneously. New Jersey requires all drivers to carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which provides compensation when the at-fault driver is unknown or uninsured. We pursue your UM claim immediately. In parallel, we coordinate with the law enforcement investigation — as the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office investigation identified and charged the Route 21 driver more than four months after the crash, and the Passaic Avenue driver more than six months later. Criminal charges produce civil evidence. We build both tracks from day one.

A speeding driver hit multiple cars on Route 46 or Getty Avenue. Can I sue the other driver even if I was in a different car? Yes. In a chain-reaction crash like the March 2025 Getty Avenue crash — where one speeding driver struck four consecutive vehicles — every person injured in any of those vehicles has the right to pursue a civil claim against the at-fault driver. We identify all available insurance policies across all involved vehicles simultaneously. You do not have to be in direct contact with the at-fault vehicle to have a claim.

I was injured in a crash involving a commercial truck on I-80 in Paterson or Clifton. What should I do first? Act the same day. Federal FMCSA regulations apply to commercial vehicles on I-80. Black box data, electronic logging device (ELD) records, carrier insurance information, and NJSP crash reports are all time-sensitive. We issue legal preservation demands within hours of being retained. In hit-and-run commercial vehicle cases — like the June 2025 I-80 Paterson case — UM coverage runs simultaneously with efforts to identify the carrier through NJDOT incident records, toll plaza camera footage, and witness accounts.

How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Passaic County, NJ? Two years from the accident date for standard personal injury claims. If a government vehicle, government road condition, or public entity contributed, a formal Notice of Claim under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act may be required within 90 days. In hit-and-run cases where criminal charges are filed months later — as in both the Route 21 and Passaic Avenue cases — it is critical to preserve all evidence and begin the civil case immediately without waiting for the criminal proceedings to conclude.

Kamaya Young died on Route 21 in Clifton. A Newton man died on Getty Avenue, steps from our office. Rachel McNeil died in Passaic City after a hit-and-run. An unknown commercial driver fled after a fatal I-80 crash in Paterson. These are not historical statistics — they are documented crashes from the past two years on roads within miles of our offices.

When something this serious happens on Passaic County roads, you deserve the best car accident lawyers available — present in this county, experienced in its courts, and charging a fee that keeps more of your recovery where it belongs.

📞 Call (973) 647-2981 or (888) 658-4284 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 📍 600 Getty Avenue, Suite 108, Clifton, NJ 07011 📍 999 Riverview Drive, 2nd Floor, Totowa, NJ 07512 💻 Or complete the contact form.

Free consultation. No upfront costs. Only 25% — not 33⅓%. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.