Stolen Mercedes Was Encountered Multiple Times by Police Before Fatal Mays Landing Crash

MAYS LANDING — A stolen Mercedes-Benz involved in the head-on crash that killed two Egg Harbor Township residents had multiple encounters with Atlantic County police in the hours before the collision, according to court records and newly reported details about the case.

The emerging timeline shows police first encountered the 2024 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon in Longport shortly before 4 a.m. Aug. 22, more than four hours before it crashed on Route 50 in Mays Landing.

Police encountered the SUV again later that morning, including just minutes before the fatal collision.

The crash killed Alice Stilwell, 67, and Robert Barr Jr., 54, both of Egg Harbor Township.

Eighteen-year-old Nayshaun Brown of Atlantic City is accused of driving the stolen Mercedes. Three juveniles were also inside the vehicle.

Court records also indicate marijuana was recovered from the Mercedes and that Brown appeared to police to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol following the crash, according to reports by NBC10, 6ABC and New Jersey 101.5.

The case is now being investigated not only by Atlantic County authorities but also by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

Timeline begins hours earlier in Longport

According to a probable-cause statement reported by multiple news organizations, Longport police first encountered the Mercedes at approximately 3:42 a.m.

The vehicle, which had Pennsylvania license plates, was traveling west on the JFK Memorial Bridge when Longport police attempted to stop it.

The Mercedes fled.

Police then contacted the vehicle's registered owner, who discovered the SUV had been stolen, according to the probable-cause statement. Information about the stolen Mercedes was subsequently broadcast to law-enforcement agencies throughout Atlantic County.

6ABC reported the Mercedes had been taken from Longport and that police attempted to stop it at approximately 3:45 a.m.

The encounters that followed were separated by hours, making an important distinction: The publicly available information does not establish that police continuously pursued the Mercedes from Longport to Mays Landing.

Instead, the records describe separate encounters with law enforcement during the morning.

Mercedes surfaces again shortly before crash

By approximately 7:46 a.m., Hamilton Township police spotted the Mercedes near Forsythia Court, according to the probable-cause statement.

The Mercedes was reportedly traveling with a Land Rover that also had Pennsylvania plates.

Police attempted to stop the vehicles, but they sped away and officers lost sight of the Mercedes.

Then, only minutes later, came the crash.

The probable-cause statement puts the collision at approximately 7:52 a.m.

The Mercedes was traveling south on Route 50 when it crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the Hyundai carrying Stilwell and Barr.

Both were killed.

The impact sent their vehicle toward a gas station at Route 50 and Third Street. Surveillance video obtained by television news outlets captured the violent collision.

People inside the Mercedes then allegedly attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended.

Police believed driver may have been impaired

Court records provide another significant detail about what investigators encountered after the crash.

Cash and marijuana were found inside the Mercedes, and Brown appeared to police to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to an incident report described by New Jersey 101.5.

6ABC independently reported that charging documents say police believed Brown was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.

That is an initial police observation, however, and should not be confused with a confirmed toxicology result.

Authorities have not publicly announced final toxicology findings.

Brown had faced stolen-vehicle charge weeks earlier

Brown's recent history is also drawing attention.

6ABC reported that Brown had been charged July 27 in Atlantic City with occupying a stolen vehicle, less than a month before the Mays Landing crash.

NBC10 reported court records showed Brown was already facing charges in other recent cases when Saturday's crash occurred.

Brown appeared in court Monday from the Atlantic County jail with his arm in a sling, according to NBC10.

The status and circumstances of those earlier cases could become another issue as the current prosecution moves forward.

Brown and three juveniles charged

Brown and all three juveniles face charges including conspiracy to commit second-degree aggravated assault involving bodily injury while joyriding, conspiracy to commit third-degree joyriding, conspiracy to commit second-degree eluding and conspiracy to commit second-degree theft by receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

Brown additionally faces a first-degree charge of employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime.

Prosecutors have said additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

Brown remained held at the Atlantic County Justice Facility following the crash.

Two juveniles remained in custody as of the most recent publicly reported information, while another had been released by a Superior Court judge.

The charges are accusations, and Brown and the juveniles are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Why is the Attorney General investigating?

One of the unusual aspects of the case is the involvement of the New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

The Attorney General announced an investigation shortly after the crash but has released few details about the specific law-enforcement encounter under review.

Under a 2019 New Jersey law, the Attorney General must investigate a death that occurs during an encounter with a law-enforcement officer acting in an official capacity or while a person is in custody.

Those investigations must ultimately be presented to a grand jury to determine whether evidence supports criminal charges against any officer involved.

The Attorney General's Office said OPIA and the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding the Mays Landing collision.

The existence of that investigation does not mean any police officer is suspected of wrongdoing. It is a process required under state law when a death occurs in connection with a qualifying law-enforcement encounter.

What has not yet been publicly explained in detail is precisely which police interaction triggered that review and the extent to which investigators are examining the earlier attempts to stop the Mercedes.

Pursuit questions remain

The new timeline raises questions that have not yet been fully answered publicly.

Among them: How long did Longport police attempt to stop the Mercedes at 3:42 a.m.? Was there a pursuit, and if so, when was it terminated?

And when Hamilton Township police encountered the vehicle around 7:46 a.m., how long did officers attempt to follow it before losing sight of it?

NBC10 previously reported, citing a source, that officers had been pursuing the stolen vehicle but ended the pursuit before the collision.

Those distinctions matter because New Jersey places restrictions on police vehicle pursuits due to the danger high-speed chases can pose to officers, suspects and uninvolved motorists.

Nothing publicly released to date establishes that officers violated those policies.

The Attorney General's investigation should ultimately provide a more complete accounting of the police encounters preceding the crash.

Two lives lost on an ordinary Saturday morning

As the criminal and state investigations continue, families are mourning two longtime Egg Harbor Township residents.

Stilwell was a longtime hairstylist. Her obituary describes her as a mother, grandmother, sister, friend and confidante and says she and Barr had been partners for more than 20 years.

Barr worked as a bus driver in Egg Harbor Township, according to local reports.

Their Hyundai appears to have simply been traveling through Mays Landing when the stolen Mercedes crossed into its path.

The couple's deaths transformed what began hours earlier as a stolen-vehicle investigation in Longport into a major criminal case and a mandatory state review of the law-enforcement encounters that preceded the crash.

For investigators, several important questions remain: whether toxicology testing confirms the initial observations about possible impairment, whether additional charges will be filed and exactly what happened during each police encounter before the Mercedes reached Route 50.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office has asked anyone with information to contact its Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7684. Anonymous information can also be submitted through the prosecutor's tip system.