Atlantic City, NJ Resident May Escape Leaving Fatal Crash Charges

What looked to law enforcement to be a slam dunk case, may ultimately end with a hung jury, (as early as today).

We first wrote about this curious case on September 5, 2022.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office charged Harris L. Jacobs (then 26 years old) with leaving the scene of a fatal pedestrian vehicular crash.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office alleged at the time that Jacobs struck and killed Orlando Fraga, a 76-year-old man from Atlantic City "on Sunday, September 4, 2022, at approximately 3:35 A.M. on the 1800 block of Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, while operating a white 2016 Toyota 4 Runner," (the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a prepared statement).

The facts of the case are not in dispute. The defense admits that Jacobs struck pedestrian with his vehicle on September 4, 2022.

At trial, the defense is hinging everything on the mental state of Harris at the time he left the scene.

A highly respected psychiatrist, Dr. Gary Glass testified on behalf of Jacobs. Glass is always effective when he testifies.

The defense made the case that you can’t convict Harris of leaving the scene, because he did not knowingly do so.

It is a novel defense. It just might work.

According to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, the fatal crash occurred on the 1800 block of Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Specifically, Jacobs was charged at the time with 2nd-degree leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle crash resulting in the death of Fraga.

This fatal incident is a collaborative, joint law enforcement investigation between the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Crash Investigations Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department.

It’s now almost 3 years later and an Atlantic County jury has been deliberating since late afternoon on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

The jury continued to deliberate on Friday, May 2, 2025 and could not reach a verdict.

The jury returned yesterday and continued to deliberate and were still unable to reach a unanimous decision.

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Christine Smith sent the jury to lunch and advised them to continue deliberations when they returned.

The jury continued their deliberations for the remainder of yesterday and were still unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Yesterday ended without a verdict. Judge Smith sent the jury home and asked for them to return today to continue their deliberations.

The trial is not even over, yet … so, there is no word from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office about whether they will recharge Jacobs if this trial ends with a hung jury.

Conventional wisdom indicates that they will charge Jacobs, again.

This is developing story. This chapter may end today. We will keep you posted.