ONLY ON CVP: A 39-year-old Hackensack cab driver shot during a mysterious overnight incident on Route 80 died, sources told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon. Meanwhile, three people who were with him were taken in for questioning.
Jeffrey Mansilla was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center just after 3 a.m.
“He was with three people known to him,” one law enforcement source told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “An argument got heated. One thing led to another, and he ended up shot.”
A second source said police found blood on the shoulder of Route 80 in Saddle Brook.
A third source with direct knowledge of the case told CLIFFVIEW PILOT that the gun apparently was fired three times.
Mansilla was struck once, the bullet passing through him, the source said, adding: ”His passenger swapped places and drove him to the ER. That’s why there was blood on [Route] 80.”
New Jersey State Police and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office were investigating.
“They have everybody,” another law enforcement source with knowledge of the case told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Once it’s all sorted out, it will all add up.”
An NJSP trooper confirmed that State Police were called to milepost 62.7 of Route 80 in Saddle Brook, just west of Exit 62, a little after 3 a.m.
Two lanes were then closed for nearly four hours for the investigation before the full highway was reopened.
“We’re trying to determine the location of the shooting, among other factors,” NJSP Trooper Jeff Flynn told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.
Among other things, they were searching for bullet casings, one of the law enforcement sources said.