A Hamilton man found dead in the median of Route 29 in Trenton two years ago, a day after his motorcycle was found nearby, survived the crash but died when responding police failed to find him, a lawsuit charges.
Paul Corelli was 45 years when he died in November 2016.
Trenton police found his motorcycle on a Tuesday evening, and initially thought it was abandoned.
The next night, police said at the time, Corelli was found dead in the median of the highway, near the intersection with South Warren Street. They said they suspected he was thrown off the motorcycle, which was about 900 feet away along the highway.
A recently-filed lawsuit says Corelli's friends found him while out searching for him because he had not returned home and was not answering his phone.
It should have been Trenton police officers that found him, and they negligently failed in doing so the night before when he apparently crashed, the suit, filed by his daughter Amanda Corelli says.
Paul Corelli's medical records show he survived the crash, but died "many hours later."
At the time, an autopsy on Corelli found he died of multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of his death was listed as accidental, authorities said in 2016.
The four-count suit says Trenton officers not only failed to search for him, but were negligent in their training of officers in such a situation. The lawsuit, filed in Mercer County Superior Court, names the Trenton police department and city as defendants.
Trenton police do not comment on pending litigation.
Corelli lived in the Trenton / Hamilton area his entire life, and was a 1989 graduate of Steinert High School in Hamilton. He was also survived by his parents, two sons and his companion, Tina Gallagher, his obituary said.
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