Man dies during traffic stop in Woodbridge, New Jersey

🚨 Pickup truck driver refused police orders to surrender during traffic stop on Route 9

🚨 Officers heard what sounded like fireworks from the back of the van

🚨 Police say man appears to have committed suicide

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The state attorney general’s office is investigating the second death in a week involving Woodbridge police.

During a traffic stop around 6:30 p.m. Friday at a gas station on Route 9, police ordered the driver to exit the van he was driving after learning there was an active arrest warrant in the part of a criminal investigation in Nassau County, New York, according to Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

The driver refused and moved to the rear to sit behind a curtain in the back of the van, officials said.

The officers broke the van’s windows and unsuccessfully used pepper spray to force the driver out of the van. After about 15 minutes, officers heard a loud noise that sounded like fireworks coming from the back of the van, according to Platkin.

The driver was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound.

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Shotgun found in van

The attorney general said a preliminary investigation determined that no law enforcement personnel fired their weapons during the confrontation. A non-police-issued shotgun was inside the van, officials said.

The identity of the driver has not been released.

Under state law, the attorney general’s office must investigate the death of a person that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity or while the deceased person is in detention.

A day earlier, a homicide suspect whom police followed from New York to a Woodbridge hotel got off in an elevator at the Royal Albert’s Palace Hotel, also known as the Raritan Hotel, and had opened fire on Woodbridge and NYPD officers.

After an exchange of gunfire, the shooter died and two police officers were hospitalized. The police officers have since been released.

If you think you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or the NJ Hopeline at 1-855-654-6735. Click here to chat online with a qualified advisor.

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