The Burlington County Times has reported that a man has admitted his guilt in a DUI-fueled crash that left one bystander dead and injured two others, in a crash that occurred last July on Interstate 295.
C.A.J., 41, of Willingboro, told authorities that he consumed up to nine beers before deciding to drive and subsequently killing K.B., 56, on July 29 in Mansfield. His sentencing is set for March 16. The judge, in accepting C.A.J.’s guilty plea to vehicular homicide, is expected to hand down a 10-year prison sentence.
C.A.J. has a record as a previously convicted felon and was released from prison in 2007, per Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Eife. He must serve 8 ½ years before he will be eligible for parole.
K.B.’s daughter and boyfriend were the two others injured in the crash. The couple listened to C.A.J.’s tearful statement – as he admitted to taking K.B.’s life due to his decision to get behind the wheel and drive drunk that fateful night.
It was the daughter’s boyfriend that had called K.B. to help him when his car broke down after traveling north on I-295. K.B., while standing over the engine to work on it, was struck by C.A.J.’s vehicle at approximately 11 p.m.
The impact sent K.B. over a guardrail and down into an embankment – the force of which killed him per the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. His daughter, though she had been at her father’s side during the crash, sustained minor injuries to her wrist and lacerations to her face. Her boyfriend, behind the wheel of his disabled vehicle during the impact, suffered injuries that has caused him back pain, bruises on his face and lacerations on his knees.
K.B.’s wife was physically unharmed as she watched the crash from the family vehicle that had been parked safely to the side of the roadway.
C.A.J. was not badly harmed.
While his court-appointed attorney, Karen Thek, questioned him, C.A.J. admitted how much he drank, and that his blood alcohol proved to be .143. In an earlier hearing Eife said that C.A.J. had other tests – revealing that cocaine was also in his system. Additionally C.A.J. failed the field sobriety test.
C.A.J. further admitted that he had an ongoing problem with alcohol, and that allegedly he had been sober but “relapsed” the night of the accident – his 41st birthday.
Thek contended that her client pleaded guilty before an indictment because he wanted to “cause as little pain as humanly possible” to K.B.’s family.
Although this is the first DUI for C.A.J., per the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, he has had his driver’s license suspended 14 times due to administrative matters, and in 2010 he was cited for careless driving and speeding. In April, according to a commission representative, he was cited for driving without the benefit of a license, and in July, for failure to yield.
Eife said that between 1990 and 2000 C.A.J. had a total of 23 indictable convictions. His prison sentence, of 15 years, was for a series of burglaries.
If you are facing charges that stem from a DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, contact a DUI attorney to best represent you. A strong defense can help work to lessen fines and jail time.