A Rockaway Township woman has been sentenced to five years in NJ State Prison for causing a fatal DWI accident on a local roadway.
The suspect is a 63-year-old woman from Rockaway, New Jersey. She used to work as the transportation supervisor for the Rockaway Township school district. She was charged with vehicular manslaughter stemming from her involvement in a fatal car crash that occurred on Upper Hibernia Road on June 26, 2015.
According to authorities, the suspect was drunk when she lost control of her car and left the road. The car struck a mailbox and a tree before finally coming to a stop.
The suspect’s 40-year-old son, who was a passenger in the car when the crash occurred, went into cardiac arrest and later died at a hospital.
The suspect reportedly registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.263 percent on the night of the DUI crash. This was significantly higher than legal limit of 0.08 percent in NJ.
The suspect would have gone to trial in Morris County Superior Court in Morristown NJ, but she reached a plea agreement with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. The terms of the plea deal call for the suspect to be sentenced to five years in prison.
For further information about this case, access the NJ.com article, “Woman Gets 5 Years in Prison for Drunk Driving Crash That Killed Son.”