Lawsuit Filed Against New Jersey Officer’s Estate in Fatal Crash

The father of a New Jersey woman killed in a car crash is suing the estate of the deceased driver, an off-duty police officer who allegedly was driving drunk.

Nineteen-year-old Kristen Bubendorf was a passenger in a pickup truck that flipped over on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive in April 2010.

The truck was driven by 25-year-old Brian Kern, a three-year veteran of the Andover Township police force. Kern also was killed.

The Daily Record of Parsippany reported Monday that Kern’s estate is being sued by Richard Bubendorf of Newton. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Robert Gold, who filed the suit, said toxicology tests showed Kern had a blood-alcohol level of .107 percent, above the legal limit of .08 percent.