Photos: New Jersey’s biggest stories of 2017

Posted: Updated:
EDISON -

It was a busy year in New Jersey filled with lots of major news stories.

Here are some of the stories that affected New Jersey residents the most in 2017.

VIDEO: New Jersey’s biggest stories of 2017

January – Women’s March in Trenton

  • Nearly 8,000 New Jersey residents marched in Trenton to protest President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated the day before.

February – Motive behind Sarah Stern murder

  • New Jersey residents were shocked to learn that 19-year-old Monmouth County student Sarah Stern was allegedly killed by two childhood friends so that they could steal money she recently received.

March – Bridgegate sentencing

  • Former Gov. Chris Christie allies Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni were sentenced for their part in the Fort Lee George Washington Bridge traffic scandal. Kelly was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Baroni was sentenced to two years in prison.

April – Kane In Your Corner NJSPCA investigation

  • A Kane In Your Corner investigation into the NJSPCA uncovered misspending and lack of enforcement issues. The investigation prompted new legislation in Trenton to reform the agency.

May – Learjet crashes in Teterboro

  • A Learjet crashed in Teterboro, killing the two pilots on board. Wind and pilot error may have played a role in the crash. The NTSB has still not issued its final report on the crash.

June – NJ Transit “Summer of Hell”

  • A plan to repair Amtrak’s tracks surrounding New York Penn Station led to several NJ Transit service changes for New Jersey commuters.

July – New Jersey government shutdown

  • A state budget dispute led to the state government shutting down just before the Fourth of July. The situation was made infamous due to the image of Gov. Chris Christie and his family enjoying the weekend at Island Beach State Park while all state parks were closed.

August – Solar Eclipse

  • New Jersey residents were able to view a solar eclipse for the first time in years.

September – Rough waters at the Jersey Shore

  • Hurricanes in the Caribbean caused very rough surf off the New Jersey coast. Three people were killed in rip currents and about 150 more were rescued from the ocean.

October - Manhattan terror attack

  • A terror attack in Manhattan killed eight people, including one New Jersey resident. Paterson resident Sayfullo Saipov was accused of plowing a rented Home Depot truck into a group of people. He is awaiting trial.

November – New Jersey elects a new governor / Sen. Menendez trial

  • New Jersey citizens elect Democrat Phil Murphy as governor. Murphy, a former Goldman Sach’s executive, defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
  • The bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez ends in a hung jury.

December – New York Giants drama

  • Star quarterback Eli Manning was benched for the first time in his New York Giants career. The controversial move in part led to the firing of Coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese. It was the first in-season firing for the team in decades.
sorry to interrupt
your first 20 are free
Access to News 12 is free for Optimum, Comcast®, Spectrum Networks® and Service ElectricSM customers.
Please enjoy 20 complimentary views of articles, photos, and videos during the next 30 days.
you have reached your 20 view limit
Access to News 12 is free for Optimum, Comcast®, Spectrum Networks® and Service ElectricSM customers.
Please login or create an account to continue enjoying News12.
create an account
Our sign-up page is undergoing maintenance and is not currently available. However, you will be given direct access to news12.com while we complete our upgrade.
When we are back up and running you will be prompted at that time to complete your sign in. Until then, enjoy the local news, weather, traffic and more that's "as local as local news gets."
back to site