State police and prosecutors offered conflicting accounts about how a reckless driving charge was dropped against a man who drove into oncoming traffic and caused a fatal accident last August.

Chaim Gordon, 24, was driving a Ford Explorer and trying to pass a Cadillac carrying The Grand Rabbi of New Square, David Twersky, when he crossed a double yellow line and crashed head-on into another car, leading to the death of 62-year-old Iksong Jin, according to statements the state police released at the time of the accident.

Almost a year later, on Aug. 9, Gordon was issued a speeding ticket, four other civil traffic tickets, and a criminal charge for reckless driving. But the reckless driving charge was dropped prior to Gordon’s appearance in court last Monday.

In interviews with Shtetl over the past few days, prosecutors and police offered varying accounts regarding who was responsible for dropping the charge, and why.

According to Ryan Greenbaum, a spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney, police dropped the criminal charge against Gordon.

Greenbaum said a letter from the state police was read by the judge in court the morning of the arraignment. Greenbaum characterized the letter as saying that the state police “were withdrawing the charges because it was filed in error." Neither office contacted by Shtetl agreed to share a copy of the letter.

Speaking for state police, Trooper Steven Nevel, public information officer for Troop F of the state police, initially told Shtetl, “we didn’t drop it, and it wasn’t filed in error.” After hearing Greenbaum’s full comment about the letter, Nevel said that he was no longer sure whether or not the police dropped the charge, and that the police had no further comment. “I honestly don’t know what’s going on with this entire thing,” Nevel said.

While Greenbaum said his office did not drop the reckless driving charge, he offered a rationale for a lack of criminal charges. “Not every traffic fatality is a criminal case,” he said. “No matter how tragic it is, no matter how serious or significant the crash is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a criminal offense.”

However, Matthew Weiss, a traffic lawyer at Weiss & Associates, PC, said it’s “highly unusual” for reckless driving charges to be brought in error. “There’s something fishy or not normal going on here,” Weiss told Shtetl. Reacting to the “filed in error” comment, he said, “that makes no sense to me; it takes a lot of effort to look up the law and write up the paperwork in support of that charge,” adding “I don’t see how you commit an error like that; it’s not like a butt dial.”

Weiss said that given the other charges against Gordon, he believes reckless driving was probably an appropriate charge, unless something serious happened beyond the driver’s control, such as a heart attack.

“If he was speeding and crossed over, that would lean in favor of recklessness occurring here,” Weiss said. “That group of charges certainly is indicative of someone driving in a manner in gross disregard for the safety of others, and often, you see reckless driving as a charge when those other charges are brought.”

Reckless driving is a misdemeanor and, for a first-time offender, carries up to 30 days in jail, fines up to $300, and a criminal record.

Jin was 62 years old and was buried in his native country of Korea, according to a GoFundMe set up by his son’s friend. According to state police, Gordon and four other young men in his Ford Explorer were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Some Haredi media covering the accident at the time claimed that, contrary to the state police’s press release, Twersky was in the vehicle Gordon was driving; others claimed that Gordon’s vehicle was part of the rabbi’s motorcade. According to the Yeshiva World News, the state police visited the rabbi’s home the night of the crash. The state police said that Twersky was not in Gordon’s vehicle; regarding the other claims in Haredi media, neither the state police nor the DA offered comment.