Police Officer Shawn Carson

Shawn Carson

Police Officer Shawn Carson and Police Officer Robert Nguyen were killed when their patrol truck drove off of the Hackensack River Bridge and plunged 45-feet into the Hackensack River during a period of heavy fog at 8:20 pm.

The officers had driven across the lift-bridge to place flares on the Newark side to warn drivers about a problem with the bridge's operations. As they set the flares, the bridge operator opened the span to allow a tugboat to pass underneath. The bridge's safety bar and warning lights, which had not been functional for two days, failed to activate when the span opened.

As the officers returned to the Jersey City side of the bridge, their vehicle drove off of the open portion of the span and fell to the river below, killing both officers.

Officer Carson was pulled from the water two hours after the incident and taken to University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officer Nguyen's body was recovered on December 29th, 2005, by members of the New York City Police Department's Dive Unit. His body was snagged under concrete pilings in 50 feet of water some 90 feet from where the truck went into the river.

Officer Carson had served with the Jersey City Police Department for 16 years.