Millville man fatally shot by police was driver in fatal police chase four months earlier

The man shot by a detective in Vineland had pending charges in a fatal crash after he allegedly ran from police in June. Jacob Servais, 19, died Thursday, less than four months after losing his close friend in the crash on Route 55 in Elk Township, Gloucester County. The Millville man was being chased by Franklin Township police, when his truck drove into the median near Exit 48, hit a tree and caught fire. Victor Manuel Garcia, 17, of Vineland, died in that crash. Servais was charged with death by automobile. GARCIA Three days after Garcia died, his girlfriend gave birth to their daughter. Servais couldn't forgive himself for causing the crash that took the love of her life, Shelby Mott said. "He said he was going to protect us just as Victor would," she told BreakingAC. But another police chase may have led to his death, she said. Mott was told that Servais was eluding police when he hit traffic on South Delsea Drive in Vineland. He was stopped when he was shot, she said. The police believed the car was stolen and he was armed, Mott said, insisting that neither was true. Officials have not released much on the circumstances surrounding Servais' death. The shooting happened at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the Just Four Wheels Car, Truck and Van Rental on South Delsea Drive. Detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office and Lower Township police were "conducting a law enforcement operation at the scene," state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. It was not clear what led Cape investigators to Cumberland County. Servais was taken by ambulance to Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, where he was pronounced dead.  No one else was injured. The Attorney General's Shooting Response Team is investigating. Mott spoke with Servais just three days before he died. "He sent me a video of the last time he was with Victor," she said. "Jacob felt horrible for being responsible for Victor's death. He would call me and talk to me and cry sometimes and always try and check on me and our baby girl." Mott said she first blamed Servais as well, but said, knowing her boyfriend, he likely told his friend not to stop. Lt. Ted Schafer told the Vineland Daily Journal they had broken off the chase before the truck crashed. Mott does not believe the chase really ended. While she and Garcia's family still search for answers there, there are new questions with Servais' death. Those answers may not come quickly as the investigation continues. The Attorney General’s Independent Prosecutor Directive has strict procedures for conducting such investigations. It requires the attorney general to review all deadly force investigations. In some cases — as with this one — the office's Shooting Response Team investigates directly. Unless undisputed facts indicate the use of force was justified under the law, the circumstances of the incident must ultimately be presented to a grand jury composed of 23 civilians for its independent review.