Report: Sussex County Tow Truck Driver Was High On Fentanyl, Morphine In Crash That Killed 2

A tow truck driver from Sussex County was high on fentanyl and morphine when his truck crossed over the center line and struck a sedan in Lafayette -- leaving two people dead and another injured, a recent report says.

Joseph Crilley, 29, of Newton, was being held in the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility.
Photo Credit: *Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility*

Cecilia Levine

09/19/2019 2:27 p.m.

Joseph Crilley, 29, of Newton, was charged on Tuesday with drug possession and vehicular manslaughter, Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said in an article by the Daily Record.

Crilley was towing two other vehicles in his Isuzu truck when he crossed the double-yellow line on Route 94 northbound in Lafayette and hit a Honda Civic head-on in the southbound lane, Daily Voice reported at the time of the incident.

Honda driver James Ziniewicz, 43 of Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene, State Police said.

His back-seat passenger, Bassirou Diaite, 33 of Hamburg, was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center and died of his injuries on Aug. 31, the Daily Record article says.

The front seat Honda passenger, a 31-year-old female from Newton, was taken to the hospital with serious injures, state police said.

Crilley was being held at the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility pending a grand jury appearance.

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