Garden State Parkway fatal crash: Driver was on fentanyl
TOMS RIVER - A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of a Berkeley man more than three years ago on the Garden State Parkway, while she was driving high on fentanyl, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer has announced.
Michelle Roselli, 36, who is from Spotsylvania County, also pleaded guilty last week to assault by auto and driving under the influence, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
When Roselli is next scheduled to appear before state Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan on July 14, the Prosecutor’s Office will recommend a sentence of up to six years in state prison, the statement said.
The crash took place in the southbound lanes of the Parkway near milepost 64 on Jan. 26, 2020, ending the life of Tri Nguyen, 66, who was in another car. A female passenger seated next to Nguyen, Thuy Duong, 51, also of Berkeley, remains in a rehabilitation facility, having not recovered from her injuries, according to the statement.
Investigators determined that Roselli was responsible for the crash. She was behind the wheel of a 2012 Honda Civic when she failed to maintain her lane and struck a 2001 Toyota Scion in which Nguyen and Duong were backseat passengers. The driver of the Scion, Kathy Nguyen, 32, of the Bayville section of Berkeley, and a juvenile passenger in the front seat, were also injured in the crash, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Roselli failed a sobriety test at the scene and a search warrant for a sample of her blood revealed the presence of 8.6 nanograms of fentanyl in her system, rendering her unfit to operate a motor vehicle, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The impact of the crash had forced the Scion off the Parkway and into a wooded area, where the car struck several trees, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Everyone in the Scion was taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford, where Kathy Nguyen and the juvenile were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital.
Tri Nguyen and Duong suffered much more serious injuries in the crash and had to be airlifted to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Campus in Galloway, according to the statement.
Nguyen died from his injuries about a month after the crash, the statement said.
Roselli was charged on March 13, 2020 and turned herself in at the New Jersey State Police Barracks in Galloway in Atlantic County, one week later. She was transported to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River and was later released pending the outcome of the case, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron has been handling the case on behalf of the state of New Jersey.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Fatal crash on Parkway NJ: Driver was on fentanyl
