FRANKLIN BOROUGH, NJ (Sussex County) — The NJ Attorney General’s Office has released the identities of the person killed in last month’s crash in Sussex County and the officer involved in the investigation.
The civilian who died has been identified as Deanna D’Arco, 19, of Sussex Borough, authorities said.
According to the preliminary investigation, on May 27, at around 10:41 a.m., Franklin Borough Police Sgt. William Grissom, who was on duty and operating a marked police vehicle, was involved in a collision with a vehicle near the intersection of Route 23 and Walsh Street in Franklin Borough, officials said.
D’Arco, a passenger in the vehicle, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to Morristown Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the vehicle and the involved officer were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
D’Arco was later pronounced dead on May 29 at 12:45 a.m., officials said.
“The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time,” authorities said.
A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.
