Orange NJ detectives are investigating the fatal shooting of a cab driver who crashed his vehicle on a local road.

Authorities found the victim’s body inside his cab. Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the Orange Police Department received a call about a car accident on the 200 block of Snyder Street in Orange, New Jersey. When Orange NJ cops got to the scene of the accident, they saw that the cab had crashed into a fence, a tree, and a parked car.

The victim was inside his cab and unresponsive. Medical responders later pronounced him dead at the scene, with the reported cause of death being a gunshot wound.

The victim was 55 years of age and resided in East Orange, New Jersey. He worked as a cab driver throughout Essex County.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Task Force and the Orange Township Police Department are working together on the investigation into the killing. According to initial media reports, a person who lives near the site of the crash may have told investigators that he heard two loud popping noises right before the accident.

If police can eventually determine who was responsible for the homicide, that person may face first degree murder charges. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3, murder is a special kind of first degree crime that can result in life imprisonment. Moreover, a conviction on first degree murder charges could lead to a minimum punishment of 30 years in NJ State Prison.

For additional information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Cab Driver Found Fatally Shot After Crash in Orange, Officials Say.”