Northeast
New Jersey driver awarded $13M after state troopers mistakenly believed her stroke was sign of intoxication
A New Jersey driver was awarded nearly $13 million after she was arrested by a state trooper who mistakenly believed she was intoxicated when she was actually suffering from a stroke, which delayed the medical care she urgently needed by several hours.
Cheryl Lynn Rhines, now 57, was having a stroke on Oct. 17, 2017, when she pulled her vehicle over on Route 78 as she was traveling from her home in Jersey City to her job in Florham Park, according to her lawsuit against the New Jersey State Police obtained by NJ.com and the New Jersey Monitor.
A trooper found her about 30 minutes later with vomit on her face, and she was only able to answer questions with a “yes” or “no.”
Rhines was experiencing facial drooping – a symptom of a stroke – and was unable to control her body and motor functions, but the trooper claimed she was “playing games” and made the arrest, according to the lawsuit. She was also experiencing drooping eyelids and having trouble holding herself up.
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A New Jersey driver was awarded nearly $13 million after she was arrested by a trooper who mistakenly believed she was drunk when she was suffering from a stroke. (Getty Images)
The lawsuit described the trooper’s conduct as “so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”
“Any ordinary human being observing Cheryl Rhines would have immediately recognized and called for emergent medical care,” it added.
More than two hours passed before someone at the police station eventually realized she was having a medical emergency and called an ambulance, which transported her to a hospital.
Rhines’ lawsuit against New Jersey State Police said anyone observing her “would have immediately recognized [her stroke] and called for emergent medical care.” (Getty Images)
Rhines and her mother said the delay in treatment led to her suffering “the death of significant brain function and permanent lifelong disability,” according to the Independent. She is no longer able to work and requires continuous care.
In a trial last month, a jury faulted the state police. The state argued that police followed their training in their handling of Rhines’ situation.
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The state of New Jersey argued the trooper followed police training while handling Rhines’ situation, but a jury found the trooper guilty. (New Jersey State Police)
She was initially awarded $19.1 million – $5 million for pain and suffering, $6 million for emotional distress, $6.5 million for medical care and $1.6 million for loss of income – but the total was later reduced because of her pre-existing condition, according to NJ.com.
Nearly $350,000 in medical expenses and more than $1 million in other related costs were added to the final payment, which ended up being about $12.9 million, the outlet noted.
Fox News Digital has reached out to New Jersey State Police for comment.
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Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, is in a Florida hospital in critical condition, his spokesman said Sunday.
The spokesman, Ted Goodman, would not specify which hospital and said that the former mayor “remains in critical but stable condition.”
“Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak,” he said, before asking “that you join us in prayer” for the former mayor.
It is unclear when Mr. Giuliani, 81, was taken to the hospital.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, called Mr. Giuliani a “True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
He used the occasion to again advance his false claim that Democrats “cheated” in the 2020 election.
“They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!” he said.
Mr. Giuliani has struggled with legal and financial problems in recent years, and in the summer of 2025, he was involved in a car crash in New Hampshire in which he suffered a fractured vertebra. After that, Mr. Giuliani made at least one public appearance in a wheelchair.
Mr. Giuliani became mayor in January 1994 after he defeated Mayor David N. Dinkins, who was running for a second term. He remained in office until December 2001 and helped lead the city in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Later, he became a personal lawyer to Mr. Trump during the president’s first term and quickly became embroiled in a number of investigations related to the presidency.
Mr. Giuliani was a crucial part of the team that helped Mr. Trump advance the claim that he won the 2020 election. After Mr. Trump left office, Mr. Giuliani was indicted multiple times and contended with a number of costly defamation suits related to those efforts. Now disbarred, he has kept a far lower profile during Mr. Trump’s second term in office.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Gunshots were fired in a daytime armed home invasion in Saugus, Massachusetts, on Sunday, police say, and the two suspects are in custody.
No one was hurt in the shooting on Oakwood Avenue about noon, Saugus police said. Two Boston men, Derek Matarazzo and Timothy Gregory, are facing felony charges including home invasion after their arrest shortly after the 911 calls came in.
The calls reported two men in masks, dressed in black, armed with guns, breaking into a house, police said. They didn’t share what led to the gunfire or how the men were tracked down, saying only that the department wasn’t speculating on their motivation.
Matarazzo and Gregory are believed to be the only people directly involved in the home invasion, police said, and it’s believed to be an isolated incident, so there’s no danger to the public.
Neighbors who spoke with NBC10 Boston say they are shaken up by what occurred, describing a shootout right outside their homes in the middle of the day.
Ring camera video from a nearby home shows the aftermath, as neighbors say you can see the homeowner running into the middle of the street with a phone pressed to his ear, desperately flagging down police — after the chaos.
A neighbor tells us his family first heard what sounded like a pop — something they thought could’ve been a lawn mower backfiring, until they realized it was gunfire. That neighbor says one of his daughters then saw a man carrying a safe — dropping it in their front yard — while shots were being fired.
“I saw somebody come out of the house shooting and then we all hit the deck, because you didn’t want a stray bullet to ricochet off something and come through the window or anything like that,” George Benn said.
“I saw the shots. I saw a man go down. I thought he was going to be dead but apparently he just flipped on that hill,” Tom Bushee said.
The investigation is ongoing.
This year’s Pittsburgh Marathon is one for the record books. More than 52,000 runners crossed the finish line, with more than 300,000 spectators cheering them on.
“We’re welcoming people from around the world,” P3R CEO Troy Schooley said. “This event has turned into an international event for our city. We’re going to show it off today. The runners will run through 14 neighborhoods. We have 33 different countries represented today and all 50 states.”
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Mohammed El Youssfi claimed the men’s division of the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, crossing the finish line and immediately wrapping himself in the Moroccan flag.
“This is my first time in Pittsburgh, but the special moment for me today is the people here cheering me on,” El Youssfi said. “That helped me to win the race.”
Emotions ran high for Pittsburgh’s very own Will Loevner. The Winchester Thurston graduate has run the Pittsburgh Marathon multiple times, finishing as the runner-up in 2024 and fifth in 2025. But in 2026, he took home top honors, crossing the finish line first at 2:14.
“I’ve now won the Philadelphia marathon, the Cleveland marathon twice,” Loevner said. “To win Pittsburgh, I feel like it was the trifecta and the most special one for me. I mean, being in the hometown, nothing even compares.”
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Buze Diriba Kejela is 2026’s women’s Pittsburgh Half Marathon champion, setting a course record for women and crossing the finish line at 1:08:39.
“I’m happy to set the course record. I like it,” she said.
Before the runners crossed the start line, the handcyclists got a head start. Marshall Tempest of Monroeville came out on top in the Pittsburgh Marathon Handcycle Division, finishing at 1:40:16.
“I’ve done 13 Pittsburgh marathons, and this is my 5th time winning it, in a row,” he said. “It feels good. It was a rough one, but I was determined to get that 5th one.”
“I love running,” said Will Henry Lawrence, who ran the half-marathon. “I love being able to have breath in my lungs and let my feet hit the pavement. I had a stroke six years ago, and so I give all glory to God for being able to get out and exercise.”
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Tickets for the 2027 Pittsburgh Marathon are on sale for 48 hours, starting at 3 p.m. on May 3, 2026. You can register at thepittsburghmarathon.com
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