The driver of a car that sped down a residential Princeton street and struck and killed Rabbi James Diamond as he was getting into a parked vehicle March 28 has been indicted by a Mercer County grand jury.

Two of the cars involved in accident on Riverview Avenue in Princeton
Two of the cars involved in accident on Riverview Avenue in Princeton (Brian McCarthy)
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Rabbi James Diamond
Rabbi James Diamond (Jewish Publication Society Blog)
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Eric D. Maltz, 21, of Princeton was behind the wheel of a 2003 BMW that struck the car with such force that a car parked in back of the struck vehicle was pushed several hundred feet across the street into a tree.The car was parked in front of the Riverview Elementary School which was closed for its spring break.

The driver of the parked car, 63-year-old Robert Freedman, was badly injured in the crash.

Maltz was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, one count of second-degree death by auto and one count of fourth-degree assault by auto according to Planet Princeton.  He is free on $100,000 bail and faces 30-years in prison.

Following the accident, Maltz spent several weeks at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. Planet Princeton cited a police report that Maltz had a fight with his father over marijuana use and trashed his bedroom. He told police he was taking two medications for depression and mood stabilzation.

Diamond, 74, was the beloved retired director of Princeton University’s Center for Jewish Life,  “admired by students and faculty  for his kindness, his teaching and his efforts to bring different Jewish denominations together" according to a statement on their website at the time. He was the Center’s Executive Director until 2003 and taught part-time at Princeton following his retirement.

Photo and video courtesy Brian McCarthy, On Scene News

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