A Morris County Superior Court judge has reduced the prison sentence for a driver who was convicted of causing a deadly DWI accident in Jefferson Township, New Jersey.

The fatal accident occurred in 2013. The 39-year-old suspect was reportedly consuming alcohol while attending a party at Tomahawk Lake in Sparta, NJ.

When the suspect decided to leave the social gathering, he got behind the wheel of an SUV and drove away with several people other people in the vehicle. The passengers were reportedly getting a ride back to Jersey City, New Jersey.

While driving along Route 15 in Jefferson Township, the suspect lost control of his SUV and crashed. Three people died in the DWI accident.

Police investigated the fatal crash and administered a blood test. The suspect allegedly registered a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that was three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

The suspect was charged with vehicular manslaughter as a result of the DWI accident. The superior court judge later handed down a sentence of 20 years in NJ State Prison.

After the sentencing hearing, the suspect filed an appeal. Now the judge in the case has decided to take five years off the suspect’s prison sentence. The judge justified the reduction by saying that he initially intended to impose a sentence of just 15 years in New Jersey State Prison; however, the testimony of a parent of one of the victims unduly influenced the judge’s sentencing decision.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office strongly objected to the judge’s decision to reduce the suspect’s punishment in the fatal DWI case.

For further information about this case, view the NJ.com article entitled “Judge Reduces Sentence in Fatal Jefferson DWI Crash, Report Says.”