Bogota Police/News 12 New Jersey
- Footage obtained by News 12 New Jersey shows the fatal crash involving Nadine Arslanian and a pedestrian.
- Arslanian, who is now married to Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, was not charged in the incident.
- The couple is under increased scrutiny after they were charged with bribery last week.
Newly released footage shows the moment Sen. Bob Menendez's now-wife Nadine Arslanian fatally hit a pedestrian in her Mercedes-Benz on a New Jersey street in December 2018.
Security footage of the incident was obtained and published by News 12 New Jersey on Wednesday evening a few hours after NorthJersey.com and The Record of New Jersey first reported on the crash.
A December 2018 police report reviewed by Insider said Arslanian struck and killed a man on Main Street in Bogota, a borough in suburban Bergen County, New Jersey.
The security footage shows a car barreling into a person who appears to be standing in the street. The pedestrian in the video is blurred to soften the visual impact of the crash. Later in the footage, other bystanders can be seen waving down a police car while standing near the victim.
Arslanian, who married Menendez in 2020, was not charged in the incident. The Bogota Police Department said in an investigation into the crash that Arslanian was "not at fault" and said the pedestrian had been jay-walking.
The victim was 49-year-old Richard Koop. He was hit and killed in front of his house, the police report said.
"It was a tragic accident and obviously we think of the family," Menendez told reporters Wednesday.
Both Menendez and Arslanian are under increased scrutiny after they were indicted on bribery charges last week. Prosecutors allege the two helped three Egyptian businessmen in exchange for bribes, including a 2019 Mercedes.
Menendez has denied wrongdoing and resisted calls from his fellow Democrats to resign his seat in the Senate.
Representatives for Menendez did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.