A Dover NJ man was found not guilty on charges of vehicular homicide stemming from a fatal accident in Parsippany, New Jersey.
A jury in Morris County Superior Court in Morristown handed down the not guilty verdict after deliberating for three hours. As a result of the acquittal, the 61-year-old suspect will avoid significant penalties for the fatal crash.
According to authorities, the deadly accident occurred on Route 10 in Parsippany NJ in December 2012. A 64-year-old pedestrian died while crossing Route 10 near the Pelican Ski shop. The crash happened around 2:00 a.m.
The victim, who lived in the Mountain Club condominium complex in Morris Plains, died as a result of “multiple, massive injuries” to his leg, arm, back, hip, and pelvis.
Police later administered a blood test, which reportedly showed that the suspect had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .073 percent. The legal limit for BAC in New Jersey is .08 percent, so the suspect was not necessarily subject to charges for driving while intoxicated (DWI).
However, Morris County prosecutors still contended that the suspect was intoxicated at the time of the accident because the blood test was not administered until several hours after the crash.
Although the suspect kept driving after the fatal collision, he later stopped and returned to the scene of the accident.
Morris County law enforcement investigated the accident and initially declined to file charges against the suspect. Nonetheless, a grand jury returned an indictment in August 2013.
During trial, the suspect’s defense attorney said that the suspect was not responsible for the accident because it was dark and snowing outside at the time. Prosecutors countered that the suspect took an “unjustifiable risk” by consuming alcohol and then getting behind the wheel of his car.
The jury ultimately acquitted the suspect on the most serious charges of vehicular homicide. Meanwhile, the superior court judge issued a penalty on a lesser charge of driving under the influence (DUI) and suspended the suspect’s driver’s license for a period of three months.
For more information about this case, view the NJ.com article entitled “Man Acquitted of Vehicular Homicide in 2012 Death of Pedestrian.”
