Newly released video shows New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols losing control of his Dodge Charger Hellcat at 134 mph, knocking the hapless driver off the road and sending his BMW into the air. The stomach-churning moment is shown as the car crashes over a guardrail and into a field.
Steven Gilberg, 51, of Livingston, New Jersey, is currently suing Echols and the Jets, claiming he was “partially paralyzed” after the April 26, 2022, accident.
The high-speed crash occurred around 2 p.m. on the Columbia Turnpike near the Morristown Airport, just minutes from the Jets’ practice facility in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Echols received a one-game suspension in 2023, but the team did not disclose that it was due to the rookie’s reckless and near-fatal driving.
The injured New Jersey man said the accident and injuries “will haunt me forever.”
Ten seconds of dashcam footage obtained by the Post shows Echols behind the wheel of a black car. 2021 Hellcat, Gillberg’s black 2018 BMW X5 can be seen attempting to pass him on the left. The muscle car suddenly swerved to the right and slammed into the driver’s side of the Beemer, sending Gillberg’s SUV over the guardrail.
According to the victim, the BMW landed “upside down in a swamp.”
Gillberg remained trapped inside the overturned BMW for an hour before emergency personnel cut him from the car, his lawyer said.
According to a police report, the accident left him with broken ribs and “a loss of sensation and movement in his hands and right leg that required spinal surgery.”
Gillberg continues to be treated for his injuries, court documents said.
Police said an investigation showed Echols was traveling 134 mph in an 84 mph zone five seconds before the crash, police records show.
“He was in the data recorder. [at top speed] It was over 111 miles per hour,” Gilberg’s attorney Nicholas Leonardis charged.
Echols, who was alone, was not injured.
Gillberg said in a Morris County Superior Court lawsuit filed last month that the Jets are responsible for Echols’ negligent actions.
“The New York Jets … failed to exercise reasonable care in hiring Defendant Echols as one of their players by failing to conduct a proper vehicle and criminal background check,” the complaint states. .
Echols “has a prior conviction” for reckless driving and had a “remote-controlled license plate concealer” in his car, Gillberg claimed. Such concealers are typically used to avoid toll booths, speeding tickets, and red light cameras.
According to a police report, a review of Echols’ Mississippi driving record revealed that he had “four speeding convictions, one for speeding over 15 mph; He was found guilty of driving in excess of 20mph.
The police report said the jet had received a warning for flying the same turnpike in the same sports car. At that time, Echols recalled that she was stopped by a Forum Park police officer shortly after midnight on December 20, 2021, and that the officer had stopped her vehicle “for traveling 82 mph at a speed of 82 mph.”
Echols, who has not admitted guilt, was charged last year with criminal assault by motor vehicle, but has “voluntarily” entered a three-year pretrial intervention program, which could result in the charges being dismissed. be.
He received citations for reckless driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, unsafe lane changes and improper passing. They will also reportedly be terminated once Echols completes the three-year requirement.
The claim alleges that Gillberg was taken to Morristown Medical Center after the accident, underwent two spinal surgeries, and has racked up nearly $1 million in medical bills through March 2023.
Leonardis said Echols must pay Gillberg $1,200 a month in “restitution” until the victim’s “out-of-pocket” medical expenses amount to $54,460.
“Although I have made some physical progress, including being able to walk again, if not as well as before,” Gillberg said at a court hearing in February 2023, “but due to nerve damage and invisible pain,… ” he said. “The physical things I will never be able to do and the emotional trauma I live with every day will continue to affect me for the rest of my life.”
Gillberg and his wife, Cheryl, are suing Echols, the Jets, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and others for assault with a motor vehicle and negligence. The lawsuit alleges that the DOT was “negligent in the design and installation of curbs and guardrails.”
“This is a case of a gentleman who had been pulled over for speeding in the city in the past, and who had a complete disregard for the safety of others on the road. This is a gentleman who had a device that concealed his license plate,” Gilberg’s attorney Leonardis said. said.
Mr. Renardis declined Mr. Gillberg’s comment, but said, “You have to take responsibility for your actions. And there is not a single word of remorse in Mr. Echols’ posts that I have seen so far.” No. He has never contacted my client.”
Neither the Jets nor Echols’ attorney responded to messages seeking comment.
“Mr. Echols is not alleged to have driven under the influence of any drugs, nor is there any allegation that Mr. Echols intended to harm anyone,” his attorney Mitch Schuster wrote in March 2023. he told the Daily Record. Mr. Echols is deeply saddened by Mr. Gillberg’s injuries sustained in the accident and wishes him a full and speedy recovery. ”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Echols, who signed a four-year, $3.6 million contract with the Jets, played at Kentucky and was a 2021 sixth-round draft pick. He played in 14 games in 2023, recording 18 tackles and one touchdown and interception.
For some fans, Echols is best known for asking Tom Brady to sign the ball he intercepted during the Jets’ heartbreaking 2022 loss to the Buccaneers.
