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Drunken Driving

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Drunken, Snapchatting Driver Sentenced For Fiery Crash That Killed NY College Student Drunken, Snapchatting Driver Sentenced For Fiery Crash That Killed NY College Student
Drunken, Snapchatting Driver Sentenced For Fiery Crash That Killed NY College Student An admitted drunk driver who caused a fiery crash on a New York highway, killing a beloved college student, is heading to prison. New Jersey resident Vasu Laroiya, age 24, of Iselin in Middlesex County, was sentenced to 8 ⅓ to 25 years behind bars in Albany County Court on Friday, Jan. 26, after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Katie Fisher. Laroiya admitted that he was Snapchatting while driving drunk at 156 miles per hour on I-87 in Colonie when his Tesla struck Fisher’s Honda Civic on the night of May 28, 2022. Earlier Report: Drunken Driver G…

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by Michael Mashburn
Obituaries
Restaurant Manager, 56, Killed By DUI Driver Mourned By Patrons In South Jersey Restaurant Manager, 56, Killed By DUI Driver Mourned By Patrons In South Jersey
Restaurant Manager, 56, Killed By DUI Driver Mourned By Patrons In South Jersey He's remembered as being the face of Cotardo’s Italian Restaurant in Clementon. His was the first smile you saw when you walked in, patrons said on Facebook. Frank J. Bersani Jr., 56, of Laurel Springs, worked as general manager at Colardo's for 40 years until he was allegedly killed by a drunken driver on July 27. A 36-year-old woman from Gloucester County was charged with DWI, assault by auto and reckless vehicular homicide in the fatal crash. "Our hearts were shattered when Frank was tragically taken from us way too soon," ToniAnn Lopez, his goddaughter, wrote on a GoFundMe page. …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
3 Hospitalized In Serious Mercer County DWI Crash, Driver Charged With Vehicular Assault: PD 3 Hospitalized In Serious Mercer County DWI Crash, Driver Charged With Vehicular Assault: PD
3 Hospitalized In Serious Mercer County DWI Crash, Driver Charged With Vehicular Assault: PD A drunken driver was charged with vehicular assault for causing a serious crash in Mercer County, authorities said. Romulo Alfredo Menchu Aguilar, of Millstone, was driving a white Chevrolet Colorado southbound on Old Trenton Road near Pennington Drive in West Windsor when he veered into the path of a black 2022 Genesis G70 heading northbound on Old Trenton Road just after 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17, local police said in a release on Friday, June 24. Both drivers, as well as Aguilar’s passenger, had to be extricated and were taken to the trauma unit at Capital Health Regional Medical Cen…

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by Valerie Musson
News
South Jersey Police Chief Was Lying In Road With Pants Down Before DWI Arrest (VIDEO): Reports South Jersey Police Chief Was Lying In Road With Pants Down Before DWI Arrest (VIDEO): Reports
South Jersey Police Chief Was Lying In Road With Pants Down Before DWI Arrest (Video): Reports A South Jersey police chief charged with drunken driving in April can be seen lying in the road next to his pickup truck with his pants down, according to a police body cam video. Responding Hamilton police are heard making fun of Bordentown Township Police Chief Brian Pesce until they find his badge and ID, NJ Advance Media reported. Their tone then turns more serious, the video shows.  NJ Advance Media was the first news outlet to report the new detail about the April arrest.  A shorter version of the hour-long video obtained by nj.com can be watched at the end of this Police Tribune r…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Notorious Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Orders Charged With DUI Years After Deadly Crash: Police Notorious Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Orders Charged With DUI Years After Deadly Crash: Police
Notorious Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Orders Charged With DUI Years After Deadly Crash: Police The South Jersey owner who drew national attention for defying Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus orders in 2020 was charged with drunken driving in Burlington County — years after a crash that left another man dead, authorities said. Ian Smith, co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, was charged after an incident near Route 130 north and Andover Road at 12:25 a.m. on Sunday, on Sunday, March 27, Cinnaminson Police Chief Richard Calabrese told Daily Voice. Smith, of Camden County, is running for Congress as a Republican in New Jersey’s 3rd District. His congressional campaign co…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Convicted Armed Robber Reindicted For DWI Crash That Killed Rowan Student Convicted Armed Robber Reindicted For DWI Crash That Killed Rowan Student
Convicted Armed Robber Reindicted For DWI Crash That Killed Rowan Student A convicted felon serving federal prison time for a string of armed robberies in Connecticut has been indicted, again -- this time in a drunken-driving crash that killed a Rowan University senior nine years ago, NJ Advance Media reported. The DWI case has taken many twists and turns: Derrick D. Gilliam, 35, won an appeal of his homicide conviction last January on the grounds that police took an unwarranted draw of his blood at the hospital after the fatal crash, the outlet said. Matthew Uhl, 22, of Little Egg Harbor, was just two weeks away from college graduation when he was allegedly stru…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Indicted In DWI Crash, Seriously Injuring Toms River Woman, Prosecutor Says Jersey Shore Man Indicted In DWI Crash, Seriously Injuring Toms River Woman, Prosecutor Says
Jersey Shore Man Indicted In DWI Crash, Seriously Injuring Toms River Woman, Prosecutor Says A 49-year-old Jersey Shore has been indicted in connection with a drunken driving crash that hospitalized another motorist last fall, authorities said.  William Andujar of the Whiting section of the Manchester Township was indicted by a county grand jury on Thursday for seriously injuring a driver from South Toms River after rear-ending her car, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Andujar was indicted on charges of aggravated assault and assault by automobile for the crash in Berkeley Township, the prosecutor said.  At about 7 p.m. on No…

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by Jon Craig
News
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver An angry South Jersey police officer doused a drunk driver with pepper spray twice after he’d been handcuffed, then filed a false report about the incident, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday alleges. Another officer had handcuffed the disruptive driver and was beginning to put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle at a local gas station when Bridgeton Police John Grier III “grabbed a large can of OC spray and pulled out the pin,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Grier, 49, of Cedarville, told the officer to “step back,” then asked the driver, “Do you want to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
NJ Man, 29, Studying To Become Priest Killed In NYC Hit-Run Crash NJ Man, 29, Studying To Become Priest Killed In NYC Hit-Run Crash
NJ Man, 29, Studying To Become Priest Killed In NYC Hit-Run Crash A 29-year-old man studying to become a priest was struck and killed in New York City by a drunken hit-and-run driver late Tuesday night, according to Catholic Church officials. Ngu Quoc Tran, who went by Peter, was walking on Manhattan’s East Side when he was struck by the driver, who was arrested after he car was involved in another collision, the Diocese of Metuchen said. Born and raised in the An Giang Province in the south of Vietnam, Tran moved to the U.S. in August 2017 and lived at the Saint John Vianney House of Discernment in Highland Park. Tran began pre-theology in Spring 2…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Police: NJ State Sen. Sandra Cunningham Was DWI When She Sideswiped Cars In Jersey City Police: NJ State Sen. Sandra Cunningham Was DWI When She Sideswiped Cars In Jersey City
Police: NJ State Sen. Sandra Cunningham Was DWI When She Sideswiped Cars In Jersey City State Sen. Sandra Cunningham charged with drunken driving after sideswiping two cars near her Jersey City home this week, news reports say. The Hudson rep was behind the wheel of her Infiniti G35X SUV when she sideswiped a Nissan Altima and Ford Focus, which were both parked and unoccupied, according to a police report obtained by Daily Voice. Cunningham told police she was coming down the street and about to make a turn "and instead turned into a snowbank," on Culver Avenue (Route 440) around 9:30 a.m., Thursday. She was arrested and charged with drunken driving. Cunningham got…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
DWI Hit-Run Driver Leads Edgewater Police Chase In Flaming SUV, Gets Out Just In Time DWI Hit-Run Driver Leads Edgewater Police Chase In Flaming SUV, Gets Out Just In Time
DWI Hit-Run Driver Leads Edgewater Police Chase In Flaming SUV, Gets Out Just In Time A drunken hit-and-run driver whose smoking SUV was shooting out sparks as Edgewater police chased her before dawn Monday got out seconds before it went up in flames, authorities said. The Mazda CX-5 driven by borough resident Zaira Hernandez-Cortez, 26, knocked a fire hydrant more than 50 feet from its base and split a utility pole near the corner of North Street and Myrtle Avenue -- downing live wires across the road – before speeding off toward Undercliff Avenue around 4 a.m., Detective Sgt. Teddy Wetklow said. Officer Michael Colon spotted the SUV on southbound Route 5 moments later. It…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Old Bridge PD: DWI Driver Takes Off On Foot After Plowing SUV Into Dunkin' Donuts Old Bridge PD: DWI Driver Takes Off On Foot After Plowing SUV Into Dunkin' Donuts
Old Bridge PD: DWI Driver Takes Off On Foot After Plowing SUV Into Dunkin' Donuts A 34-year-old Monmouth County man was drunk when he plowed his SUV through the front window of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Old Bridge -- then tried to flee on foot, authorities said. A police officer saw the man -- whose identity has not been released -- smash into the shop at the corner of Route 35 and Laurence Parkway in the Laurence Harbor section of town just after 9 p.m. on Monday, Old Bridge police said in a statement.  The man, who authorities later found was from Hazlet, was caught after a short foot pursuit, police said. No customer or employee was injured, they said. The motorist wa…

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by Jon Craig