On a study abroad trip in 2018, Reiss Berger rented a car with his girlfriend for a drive around New Zealand. The next day, the New Jersey college student found himself in a foreign jail cell, charged with aggravated careless driving for causing a crash that killed two men.
An investigation later exonerated Reiss, but the uncertainty of facing jail time in a foreign country hung over him for a year before authorities dropped the charges.
Reiss will narrate his quest for justice and redemption in New Zealand during a special seminar hosted by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on June 2. The speakers have a message for attorneys and travelers: don’t drive in a foreign country, or at least be aware of the legal risks if you do.
“You assume that when you go to another country, the rules are the same as the rules are here. They’re not,” said Eric Berger, Reiss’ father, who is a real estate attorney in Metuchen. “Something as mundane as renting a car puts you in far more jeopardy in New Zealand than it would in the U.S.”
Berger was a 21-year-old college student studying in Australia when he rented a car for a quick spring break getaway in New Zealand. During the drive, his car collided with one carrying four people. Berger walked away with a bruised hip and bloody nose, but two men in the other car were killed.
New Zealand authorities initially believed Berger was driving on the wrong side of the road, a common mistake for American drivers accustomed to traveling in the right lane. Following a bail hearing, a judge returned his passport on the promise he would return to the country for trial. Berger finished his studies in Australia and traveled back to New Zealand a few times for court, but the case lingered throughout his senior year of college.
Through the work of private investigator the Bergers hired, authorities eventually determined that Berger was driving in the correct lane. It was the other driver who swerved into Berger’s lane while in the throes of methamphetamine addiction, and who was possibly suicidal, authorities said.
For Berger, it was a classic case of “wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
“I wish I was more well-versed in the risks of driving and getting in a car in another country,” Berger said. “If I was, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”
A key difference between New Jersey and New Zealand law, Berger’s family came to learn, is the penalty for careless driving. In New Jersey it’s a small fine, but in New Zealand you might face jail time, according to Eric Berger.
“You might never think to look at the law when you’re visiting some place. But when you go to a commonwealth country, where they drive on the left-hand side of the road, you’re undertaking much greater risk than you might think,” he said.
Following the dismissal of the charges, a New Zealand judge ordered police to pay $30,000 in legal costs to the Bergers.
Reiss Berger managed to graduate from Haverford College and works as a management consultant in New York City. He said he’s moved on with life, but with a changed perspective, knowing that another tourist in his situation – without the same resources and family support – might not have been so lucky.
“I know it could have gone a very different way. I am incredibly fortunate that I had that support,” Berger said.
The seminar, held at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, will feature a panel of Reiss Berger, Eric Berger, New Zealand barrister Mike Dodds and private investigator Michael Sabin. Visit njicle.com to register.