Bribery indictment brings renewed attention to 2018 crash involving Sen. Menendez’s wife

In December 2018, Nadine Menendez — now married to Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) and a defendant in the federal bribery and corruption charges he is facing — fatally struck a pedestrian, Richard Koop, while driving in Bogota, New Jersey. Nadine Menendez was cleared of all charges in that case, which is unrelated to the indictment she is presently facing along with her husband and two co-defendants.

But that 2018 case, according to 6 ABC Philadelphia's "Action News," is now receiving renewed attention because of the 2023 indictment.

Dashcam footage from 2018 shows Nadine Menendez talking to a Bogota police officer after the deadly crash. The officer tells her, "If we can clear you from any wrongdoing, I want to get you home and comfortable and not here anymore, you know what I'm saying?"

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Footage also shows her telling the officer, "I didn't do anything wrong. He jumped on my windshield."

The crash was investigated in 2019. The 2023 indictment, according to 6 ABC Philadelphia, mentions that case and reads, "On or about September 6, 2019, Menendez met with Official-2 at Menendez's Senate office in Newark, New Jersey in an attempt, through advice and pressure, to cause Official-2 to favorably resolve the investigation."

6 ABC Philadelphia notes that "Koop's family did pursue the case with Nadine Menendez's insurance company, and the family won."

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Read 6 ABC Philadelphia's full report at this link.