ROBBINSVILLE — The 17-year old Robbinsville High School student who fatally ran over this district's beloved schools superintendent in April was talking on her cell phone at the time of the crash, prosecutors said Thursday.

The student, who is now 18 but is not being named by authorities because she was a juvenile at the time of the crash, has been charged with second-degree death by auto and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death.

She also was ticketed for reckless driving, improper use of a cell phone while driving and leaving the scene of an accident, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said.

Steve Mayer, 52, was struck while he was jogging with his dog about 6:16 a.m. April 19 on Robbinsville-Edinburg Road just north of the Pond Road intersection. There are no sidewalks on the road, which has a 45 mph speed limit.

 

Instead of stopping, the teen drove to a nearby school and called 911 and her father.

Townsquare Media reported last month that the teen's father was already at the school by the time authorities arrived. It was not clear whether the teen called 911 or her father first.

The young woman's charges will be heard in Family Court in proceedings that will be closed to the public. No trial date has been set.

Mayer was a highly respected member of this Mercer County community and of his church, Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro. Thousands attended a vigil in his memory in April.

Mayer was hired in 2009 as superintendent in Robbinsville. He previously worked in the West Windsor-Plainsboro, Edison, Monroe, Howell and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, school districts.

He is survived by his wife Donna, a teacher in the district, and three sons.

In the days following the fatal crash, township Mayor David Fried said he had met with the family of the teen driver and said there were "two families involved in this tragedy."

The township denied a request by New Jersey 101.5 to access recordings of any 911 calls placed that morning and to accident and police reports about the incident. The township said weeks after the incident that the reports had not yet been completed. They denied release of the 911 calls, which generally are considered public records, in part because of the "potential harm of unwarranted solicitation, along with the harm of jeopardizing a citizen’s person and property."

Robbinsville intersection (Google Maps)
Robbinsville-Edinburg Road at the Pond Road intersection. (Google Maps)
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