Nadine Menendez: US senator's wife hit and killed pedestrian in 2018

Nadine and Robert Menendez

A US senator's wife hit and killed a jaywalker with her car in 2018, according to a police report cited by US media.

The New Jersey crash is briefly mentioned in an indictment that alleges Nadine Menendez and her husband Robert, a New Jersey senator, were part of a massive bribery scheme involving gold, cash and a car.

Richard Koop, 49, died in the December 2018 crash.

Ms Menendez was not charged.

Details about the crash, which occurred on a cold winter evening in Bogota, New Jersey, were outlined in a Bogota Police Department report cited in the New York Times and northjersey.com.

According to the report, police responded to calls of a pedestrian hit by a car about 19:35 EST (24:35 BST) on 12 December 2018.

Ms Menendez, who was the senator's girlfriend at the time, was behind the wheel when her Mercedes-Benz sedan hit Mr Koop.

The crash left Mr Koop, a Bogota resident, dead just feet away from his home.

Bogota officer Michael LaFerrera, writing in the report, said he arrived at the scene and saw Mr Koop on the ground "unconscious".

Mr LaFerrera said he could not find a pulse and was "unable to attempt CPR as there was no way to properly control Mr Koop's bleeding from his face and head, rendering CPR useless".

Mr Koop was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

The police report cited by US media says Ms Menendez "was not at fault in this crash".

"Mr Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk," the report says.

Images obtained by USA Today show Ms Menendez dressed in a fur coat talking with police on the street after the incident.

She told police at the scene she "did nothing wrong".

She also asked for a lawyer and told officers she didn't "want to say anything wrong", northjersey.com reported.

According to The New York Times, Ms Menendez was never tested for drugs or alcohol.

She was released without a summons and allowed to leave the scene of the crash.

However, an autopsy report showed that Mr Koop was tested, and had alcohol and marijuana in his system.

His family has raised complaints about why the victim in the incident was the only one police tested.

That car crash is reportedly connected to one of the alleged bribes received by the Menendez family.

According to the federal indictment, a month after the accident Ms Menendez was texting Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, about her lack of a car.

Three months later, Ms Menendez walked into a Mercedes Benz dealership and purchased a convertible C-300 using a mix of credit cards and cheques and $15,000 in cash.

The money was allegedly provided by Jose Uribe, another person indicted in the scheme, the indictment says.

"I will never forget this," Ms Menendez said in a text to Mr Uribe, before texting him a photo of the vehicle.

The car is just one of multiple lavish items prosecutors allege the Menendez family received.

In September, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York indicted Ms Menendez, her husband, Robert, and three New Jersey businessmen, which include Mr Hana, Mr Uribe and Fred Daibes for their alleged participation in a bribery scheme.

The indictment claims the New Jersey senator and his wife received $480,000 (£390,000) in cash, $100,000 in gold bars and other "things of value" in exchange for favours done by Mr Menendez for the three businessmen.

Lawyers for the Menendez couple pleaded not guilty on their behalf during their court arraignment on 27 September.

The US senator has, however, temporarily stepped down from his role as US Senate foreign relations chairman.

He has also rejected repeated calls from fellow Democrats to resign.

"When all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey's senior senator," a defiant Mr Menendez told a news conference in September.

A trial date has been set for 6 May 2024.