Jersey City Driver Indicted In Multi-Fatal Collision on Paterson Plank Road

A Hudson County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against 23-year old, Ziyang Wang of Jersey City in connection with a multi-fatal collision on Paterson Plank Road in Jersey City last October.

According to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, the indictment, signed by the Honorable Jeffrey R. Jablonski on January 11, 2024, charges Wang with three counts of aggravated manslaughter, crimes of the first degree; three counts of reckless manslaughter, crimes of the second degree; three counts of death by auto, crimes of the second degree; one count of aggravated assault, a crime of the second degree; and one count of assault by auto, a crime of the fourth degree.

Prosecutor Suarez says on Monday, October 16, 2023, at approximately 12:45 a.m., the Jersey City Police Department was notified of a two-car collision on Paterson Plank Road, south of Congress Street.  When officers arrived they located a BMW X5 M50i that appeared to have crashed head-on with a Kia Amanti.  The driver of the Kia – identified as 26-year old, Jersey City resident Dylan Weidenfeld – was pronounced dead at the scene.

Five people were in the BMW.  Wang was identified as the driver.   A female, backseat passenger was also pronounced dead at the scene.  A male, backseat passenger was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.  A third backseat passenger, a 19-year-old female, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center with critical injuries. A front seat female passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Data recovered during the preliminary investigation found Wang was operating the vehicle in excess of 100 miles per hour in the seconds leading up to the collision.

The charges against Wang are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.