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Michael Pillarella, of Manahawkin, was found guilty of manslaughter and assault by auto in connection with the motor vehicle crash that occurred in Little Egg Harbor Township on Jan. 30, 2021, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
After a nearly three-week jury, the jury concluded that Pillarella recklessly caused the death of one victim, and recklessly operated a motor vehicle and caused serious bodily injury to the second victim, Billhimer said.
GoFundMe pages identified the passenger who died 10 days after the crash as Gianna Palmieri, 16, and the injured driver as Kaitlyn Pivola — both students at Pinelands Regional High School.
Pillarella is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, at which time he faces up to 15 years in New Jersey State Prison, the prosecutor said.
An investigation revealed that a 2017 Hyundai Elantra, operated by Pillarella, was traveling northbound on Radio Road when he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway, crossed over the centerline, and struck an oncoming 2006 Toyota XB traveling southbound on Radio Road.
On Feb. 9, 2021, Palmieri, the passenger in the Toyota XB, succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the crash. She was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Pillarella declined hospital treatment. But laboratory results in connection with Pillarella’s blood draw revealed that he was under the influence of a combination of Alprazolam, Methadone, Fentanyl, and alcohol at the time of the crash, and that he was unfit to safely operate a motor vehicle on the roadways of the State of New Jersey, Billhimer said.
Further investigation revealed that Pillarella was operating his motor vehicle at an excessive rate of speed — approximately 80 miles per hour — at the time of the crash, the prosecutor said.
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