TRENTON – A state grand jury has declined to charge a New Jersey State Trooper in connection with the 2024 death of a Toms River motorcyclist in Southampton, the state attorney general’s office announced.
The panel returned a “no bill” for Trooper Anthony Fernandes in the death of Frank Lando Jr., 65.
Lando was killed April 9, 2024, after being thrown from his Kawasaki motorcycle when it collided with Fernandes’s patrol vehicle on Route 70 near Burns Mill Road, officials said.
Authorities said Fernandes was attempting a U-turn to pursue a speeding vehicle when his car was struck on the driver’s side by Lando’s motorcycle. The trooper rendered aid at the scene before emergency responders arrived. Lando was taken to Virtua Mount Holly Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Fernandes was not seriously hurt.
The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence including body camera footage, witness statements, a crash reconstruction, photographs, and the state medical examiner’s autopsy to the grand jury. After reviewing the materials, jurors declined to bring charges.
