Princeton Man Acquitted in Crash That Killed Rabbi
Posted By richards on January 8, 2015
The Princeton man who was charged after the March 28, 2013 Riverside Drive crash that killed Princeton Rabbi James S. Diamond and injured Rabbi Robert Freedman has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Eric Maltz, 22, had been charged with one count of death by auto and one count of assault by auto. Had he been found guilty, he faced up to 40 years in prison, a sentence of 30 years for first degree aggravated manslaughter, and 10 years for aggravated assault.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Billmeier ruled December 23 that, at the time of the crash, Mr. Maltz met the legal definition of being insane. The judge based his ruling on the findings of an independent psychiatrist who had interviewed Mr. Maltz and reviewed his psychiatric records.
The crash happened during an apparent suicide attempt. Mr. Maltz, who had pleaded not guilty, is now in the criminal locked unit at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, where his condition and progress will be reviewed on a regular basis.
It was around 9:40 a.m. that Mr. Diamond, 74, and Mr. Robert Freedman, 63, a former cantor at the Jewish Center of Princeton, were leaving a Talmud study group at a home on Riverside Drive. Mr. Diamond was getting into the passenger side of a parked Toyota Prius when a BMW driven by Mr. Maltz crashed into the front of an unoccupied Toyota Camry parked in front of the Prius. The BMW was traveling at a speed of between 60 and 80 miles per hour and the impact pushed the Camry into the Prius, where Mr. Freedman was in the drivers seat.
Mr. Diamond was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Mr. Freedman was taken to the trauma center at Capital Health Medical Center, as was Mr. Maltz, who was also injured.
Mr. Maltz had a long history of mental health issues and had been released from a psychiatric facility shortly before the crash. Witnesses at the scene said he had a tank of propane gas in the passenger seat next to him. The presence of the propane tank and other records raised questions about whether Maltz intended to crash the car in order to harm himself.
Mr. Diamond was director of Princeton Universitys Center for Jewish Life from 1995 to his retirement in 2003. He was executive director of Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis from 1972 to 1995 and at Indiana University from 1968 to 1972.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, Mr. Diamond earned a bachelors degree in English literature from Roosevelt University in Chicago, rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in comparative literature from Indiana University. The author of several books and numerous articles and essays, Mr. Diamond edited A Handbook for Hillel and Jewish Campus Professionals, published in 1983. He held several major fellowships and was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1988.
It appears that Mr. Maltz had a history of mental health issues and had tried to harm himself with a knife in 2012. The Braeburn Drive resident had struggled with mood swings and depression.
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