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Stephen McGuire of Howell Township was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on the charges of vehicular homicide in connection with the death of James Grover, 62, also of Howell, in December 2020 in Manchester Township, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
At the time of the crash, McGuire was found to be legally too drunk to drive a vehicle, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
McGuire also was indicted on three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with three youths who also were aboard the UTV when it crashed, Billhimer said.
On Dec. 12, 2020, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Manchester police responded to Heritage Minerals Mine, also known as ASARCO, on Route 70 in Whiting, for a report of a motor vehicle accident with a submersion, Billhimer said.
Police found a group of individuals who were operating UTVs who said one of the vehicles had entered the lake at the center of the property and went underwater, the prosecutor said.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Manchester Township Police Department revealed that a UTV being driven by McGuire, which included Grover and three minors as passengers, had entered the lake. The UTV and Grover did not resurface. The other passengers and members of the group attempted to find Grover but were unsuccessful, Billhimer said.
Manchester police and members of the Manchester, Ridgeway, and Whiting Volunteer Fire Companies conducted an underwater dive search and rescue operation and located the UTV overturned and submerged in 25 feet of water, Billhimer said. Grover was attached to the UTV by his safety harness. The victim was removed from his safety harness, and life-saving measures were performed by Manchester Township Emergency Medical Technicians and Robert Wood Johnson Paramedics. Grover succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Billhimer said.
McGuire was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River. A search warrant was obtained for a draw of his blood; laboratory results from the blood draw, received by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 5, 2021, revealed that McGuire had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .127 %, according to Billihmer. In the State of New Jersey, an operator of a motor vehicle is presumed to be over the legal limit for purposes of alcohol consumption where his/her BAC is .08 or greater.
McGuire was arrested later that day without incident at his residence in Howell by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Officers from Manchester Township Police Department.
He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released pursuant to New Jersey Bail Reform.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron and Assistant Prosecutor Alyssa Mandara are handling the case.
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