48°
Zyasia Henson, 28, of Long Branch, and Edgar Marcial-Diaz, 32, of Red Bank, were charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and two counts of third-degree assault by auto. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced their charges in a news release on Monday, Apr. 29.
Eatontown police responded to the crash at the intersection of Route 35 and Broad Street at around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24. Marcial-Diaz was the only person in a 2002 Dodge Durango, while Henson had four of her relatives in a 2006 Nissan Altima.
Octavius Wallace, 23, of Lake City, SC, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 26-year-old woman and Henson's four-year-old son were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Henson's one-year-old son wasn't seriously injured despite being ejected from her car. Henson and Marcial-Diaz weren't injured in the wreck.
Investigators said Henson and Marcial-Diaz didn't stop at red lights on each driver's side of the road.
"The investigation also determined that both drivers were under the influence of one or more intoxicating substances at the time of the crash," said Santiago.
Henson was also charged with two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree hindering apprehension.
Henson and Marcial-Diaz were also given summonses for driving while intoxicated, failure to observe a traffic signal, and reckless driving.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mercer and receive free news updates.
