Rutherford Man Drunk When He Crashed into Carlstadt Woman in East Rutherford, NJ
A Rutherford man was recently sentenced to significant prison time for driving while intoxicated and causing a deadly DWI accident in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
According to Bergen County prosecutors, the 24-year-old suspect was drunk when he got behind the wheel of a Lexus GS430 and slammed into the victim on August 22, 2013. The 28-year-old victim, a young mother of four, was a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk next to Railroad Avenue in East Rutherford when the suspect’s car hit her.
The suspect’s vehicle reportedly slammed into a tree, a street light, and a utility pole before crashing into the victim. Investigators later determined that the suspect’s car was traveling at 57 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone.
Immediately after the car accident, the victim was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with serious head injuries. Doctors at the hospital were unable to save the victim; she was pronounced dead two days later.
When East Rutherford police tested the suspect’s blood, they reportedly learned that his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .198 percent, more than twice the NJ legal limit of just .08 percent.
In April 2015, the suspect appeared in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack and entered a guilty plea to charges of vehicular manslaughter. The suspect reportedly admitted that he had consumed a number of mixed drinks before getting behind the wheel and causing the fatal DWI crash.
Now the suspect has been sentenced to 5 years in NJ State Prison.
During an appearance in Bergen County Superior Court for official sentencing, the suspect offered an apology to the victim’s family. However, the superior court judge responded that the suspect’s apology was too late too late.
The terms of the suspect’s sentence require him to serve at least four years and two months behind bars before he will become eligible for release on parole.
For more information about this case, access the CliffviewPilot.com article entitled “Rutherford DWI Driver Gets 5 Years in Death of Carlstadt Mother of Four.”
