Paterson New Jersey Homicide LawyersA man from Rockaway Township will be spending several years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to causing a fatal car crash on a New Jersey highway. The suspect entered his guilty plea in Passaic County Superior Court in Paterson, NJ.

The suspect pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges, including vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.

The charges stemmed from a February 2014 accident on Route 46 in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. The suspect was driving a 2010 Dodge Charge when he crashed into the victim’s vehicle, causing the victim to slam into his windshield.

Afterwards, the suspect drove off and headed away from the scene of the car crash. When the suspect reached Route 80, he dialed 911 to alert law enforcement to the accident.

The suspect was later arrested and reportedly registered a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.167 percent, more than twice the legal limit in New Jersey. The blood test results led to additional charges for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

The victim in the fatal accident was just 24 years of age. Even worse, he had a child on the way when he was tragically killed.

Since the car accident occurred in Rockaway Township, the case was initially slated to be handled by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. However, a conflict of interest (the suspect’s mother worked in the Morris County Superior Court) resulted in the case being transferred to Passaic County, New Jersey.

In April 2016, the suspect appeared in Passaic County Superior Court, located in Paterson NJ, and pleaded guilty to charges for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

The suspect recently made another appearance in the Paterson courthouse and was officially sentenced for his crimes. The Passaic County Superior Court judge sentenced the suspect to an eight-year prison term: five years for the vehicular homicide charges and three years for leaving the scene of the accident.

For more information about this case, see the NJ.com article, “Man Gets 8 Years in Hit-and-Run Crash That Killed Father to Be.”