By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Feb. 4, 2025
The NJ Superior Court recently approved a settlement awarding $1.35 million to a Flemington resident who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2017 car crash with a Montgomery Township police officer.
The Montgomery News recently learned of the lawsuit and the settlement, as reported by the New Jersey Law Journal. The matter was settled by Gabriel H. Halpern, the attorney for the plaintiff and John F. Gillick, the attorney for Montgomery Township.
Plaintiff Janine Sante, 44, of Flemington was critically injured during an accident involving a Montgomery Township police officer on Nov. 9, 2017 at 5:26 pm.
Officer Connor Chapkowski was responding to an emergency when he was traveling at 89 mph in a 35-mph-zone on Burnt Hill Road at the intersection of Orchard Hill Road, according to court documents. The officer had the Ford Explorer's emergency lights and siren activated, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Crash Analysis Response Team.
Christina Lenzo, 18, of Flemington was driving a 2016 Mazda CX, turning left onto Burnt Hill Road from Orchard Road when the two vehicles collided. According to court documents, “Lenzo claims to have stopped at the stop sign at Orchard Hill Road. [She] also claims not to have seen the Chapkowski vehicle approaching, with lights and sirens on. Lenzo proceeded into the intersection. Chapkowski was unable to slow down in time and struck the rear passenger door of the vehicle where Plaintiff Janine Sante was seated.”
Injured in the accident were: Lenzo, her mother (Janine Sante), and a 17-year-old girl, all of Flemington. Montgomery Police Officer Chapkowski was also injured, according to the prosecutor's office.
Sante, who was in the rear seat of the Mazda, sustained the most serious injuries. She was airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick with life-threatening injuries including “traumatic brain injury … splenic rupture … spinal fracture, and pelvic fracture. At the hospital, she required a tracheostomy as well as chest tube insertion for pneumothorax. She was ventilator dependent and also required a PEG tube. She was in a coma for approximately three weeks,” according to public court documents.
In addition to the permanent physical injuries and scarring, which cause Sante to limp, she has permanently impaired mental capacity. She suffers from permanent visual impairment, post-traumatic stress and cognitive dysfunction. Sante uses sunglasses and hearing covering when in public due to acute sensitivity to the light and noise.
She has difficulty managing all aspects of her daily routine. She has difficulty sleeping at night and double vision. She continues to wear Prizm glasses for her double vision.
On the day of the accident, Sante was on the second day of a new job as a pharmaceutical copywriter at a salary of $114,000, according to court documents.
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Sante’s economic expert, Michael Soudry, alleged that her future lost income was between $604,000 and $843,997. In total, the plaintiffs put forth nine experts, including Geoffrey Alpert in police procedures, Dr. Lynette McKeon in neuropsychology, and Dr. Carlos Sagebien in orthopedics.
In court documents, Montgomery Township's attorney states that the Montgomery police officer was not negligent, and that the accident was not foreseeable.
In addition to the settlement, Sante received $250,000 from her daughter’s insurance company.
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