Camden County to pay $1.3 million to family of 17-year-old girl killed by police officer driving patrol car

Camden County has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a patrol car driven by a county police officer in 2019.

Nearreada Robles, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, was crossing the intersection of East State Street and Harrison Avenue, in Camden around 10 p.m., when Officer James Lopez hit her with his police car.

Robles was walking in the crosswalk and had the right of way when she was struck, according to the wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of her mother, Nydia Robles, in 2021. According to the lawsuit, Lopez was driving about 60 mph — more than twice the speed limit of 25 mph —when he hit the teen.

The officer did not stop or slow down, the suit said, and he was not driving withlights or sirens on as he set out to answer a call about an unhoused man sleeping inside a McDonald’s in Camden. The suit noted that the call was not an emergency that called for him to speed to the scene.

Dan Keashen, spokesperson for Camden County, said Tuesday that the county agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle the lawsuit. He declined to comment further on the settlement, which was first reported by the Courier Post.

Court documents show that the county did not admit wrongdoing in connection with the settlement.

Lopez pleaded guilty to careless driving. He no longer works with the department, Keashen said.

Efforts to reach Robles’ family were unsuccessful.

Jeff Fritz, the family attorney said in a statement: “Next week will be five years since Nearreada passed all too soon. The family misses her every day and asks that everyone remember her beautiful smile and spirit.”