Hillside cop from Toms River faces homicide charges in off-duty Parkway crash

FREEHOLD - A Hillside police detective from Toms River has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide in an October crash on the Garden State Parkway that left a Baltimore couple dead, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday.

John P. McClave III, 34, is also facing several traffic charges, including driving with an open container of alcohol, reckless driving, failure to wear a seatbelt and unsafe lane change, according to court records. Hillside police Chief Vincent Ricciardi said McClave also has been suspended without pay.

McClave was off-duty and headed to work on the evening of Oct. 9 when his car drifted off the Parkway in Tinton Falls, according to a statement from Mark Spivey, a spokesman for acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Shortly after the crash, investigators said McClave, whose name was not released at the time, had consented to having his blood drawn and turned over his cellphone.

An affidavit of probable cause against McClave read that McClave's blood sample "was positive for Delta-9 THC" — the intoxicating compound in marijuana — "at an impairing level of 10ng/ml," and that he had ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, in his blood "at a level of 32 mg/dl," or a 0.032 BAC, below the state's usual threshold for drunken driving. A medical expert confirmed that McClave had been impaired at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit.

McClave's attorney, Timothy R. Smith of Fairfield firm Caruso Smith Picini PC, disputed the charges.

"It is scientifically undisputed that THC levels in biofluids such as blood are not reliable indicators of marijuana intoxication. And yet it seems as though the state's case against Mr. McClave is largely grounded in such a premise," Smith said.

"This fact and others weigh in favor of a determination that the tragic events of Oct. 9, 2021, occurred by way of accident and not criminality," Smith said. "Mr. McClave, a family man with an unblemished record, who is cloaked with the presumption of innocence, adamantly maintains as much. We are prepared to tirelessly and vigorously fight to vindicate him."

Borough police and firefighters, responding to reports of a crash where the Parkway crosses Asbury Avenue on Oct. 9, found the 2018 GMC Canyon McClave had been driving, along with a 2020 Corolla that 40-year-old Angel L. Acevedo had been driving with his wife, 35-year-old Daniela Correia Salles, riding as a passenger.

Acevedo and Salles had been heading east on Asbury when McClave's truck "unexplainably left the travel lane, crossed crossed over the shoulder, proceeded north over 500 feet across the grass embankment, went airborne at Asbury Avenue, landed on top of the victim's vehicle, and came to rest on the other side of the road after striking a tree," according to the affidavit against McClave.

Acevedo and Salles "sustained multiple severe injuries and were both pronounced dead at the scene," Spivey said. McClave was treated at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for "serious but not life-threatening injuries."

Borough police and investigators from the Prosecutor's Office "determined that McClave was driving his vehicle recklessly while under the influence of intoxicating substances at the time of the collision," Spivey said.

McClave's truck "did not change direction or slow down significantly after it left the Parkway lanes, resulting in his vehicle becoming airborne upon hitting an embankment, eventually striking the car occupied by the victims," Spivey said.

“This officer’s actions on the night of the collision far crossed the line separating passive negligence from active criminality, and as a result, a married couple have lost their lives,” Linskey said in a statement. “We hope today’s announcement brings their loved ones some semblance of solace in knowing that the first steps have been taken toward achieving justice.”

"I am very disappointed about the developments regarding Det. John McClave. In light of the charges filed against him today he has been suspended from his employment without pay," Ricciardi said in an email. "The Hillside Police Department has an effective and fair disciplinary framework in place to hold our officers accountable according to the degree of misconduct. I will monitor the case closely and ensure appropriate actions are taken regarding his employment with our agency upon its conclusion."

McClave was in custody at the Monmouth County jail as of Friday afternoon, according to inmate records from the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. Linksey's office said it would seek "to have McClave detained pending the resolution of this case."

Authorities asked anyone with more information on the crash to contact Detective Kristian DeVito at the Prosecutor's Office at 800-533-7443 or Tinton Falls Patrolman David Ebert at 732-542-4422.

If convicted of a second-degree homicide charge, McClave may face up to 10 years in prison, and would be compelled to serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole under the state's No Early Release Act.

Alex N. Gecan covers local news and unsolved mysteries for the Asbury Park Press. You can reach him at 732-547-1365 or agecan@gannettnj.com, or follow him on Twitter @GeeksterTweets.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Hillside cop faces two homicide charges in deaths of Baltimore couple