Plainsboro man convicted of fatal Hillsborough crash may return to prison

Sahil Kulgod was released from custody earlier this month, but an Appellate Court decision on Tuesday means he may have to return to incarceration.

Kulgod, 29, of Plainsboro, was sentenced to four years in state prison after he was found guilty of second-degree vehicular homicide in 2019 of speeding more than 85 mph on Millstone River Road in Hillsborough before a collision in which Nancy Louie, 50, of Hillsborough, died on the morning of Jan. 4, 2015.

Kulgod was originally sentenced by Superior Court Judge Robert Ballard to five years in prison, the minimum sentence for a second-degree crime, but when the Appellate Court upheld the conviction, the case was remanded back to court for resentencing. Ballard then downgraded the offense to the third-degree for sentencing purposes and imposed a four-year No Early Release Act sentence.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office appealed the lesser sentence, arguing that Ballard should have considered Kulgod's social media posts before the crash in which he boasted of driving more than 100 mph.

One of Kulgod's social media posts a week before the crash said, according to court papers, "The number of times I've seen triple digit speeds is probably wayyy (sic) more than what my engineers had in min...#shhh."

On Tuesday, the Appellate Court agreed with the Prosecutor's Office that Ballard "abused (his) discretion in excluding consideration of those posts."

The Appellate Court ruled that whichever judge resentences Kulgod should consider the posts.

The Prosecutor's Office argued that the social media posts should be considered because they showed "his purposeful misuse of public roadways to act out his racecar-driver fantasies" in the weeks and days before the fatal crash.

The Appellate Court also ruled that the resentencing be assigned to another judge in the vicinage which also includes Hunterdon and Warren counties.

The Appellate Court also ruled that Ballard "provided no reason" for downgrading Kulgod's crime to third degree.

The case mirrors another landmark vehicular homicide case tried in Somerset County which made its way to federal court after a decade-long legal battle.

Actress Amy Locane, known for her roles in the TV series "Melrose Place" and the film "Cry-Baby," was found guilty by a jury of vehicular homicide in the death of Helene Seeman on June 27, 2010.

Fred Seeman, a New York attorney, was driving with his wife and turning into the driveway of their Montgomery weekend home when Locane struck their vehicle while going about 20 mph over the 35-mph speed limit. Helene Seeman died in the crash and her husband suffered serious injuries. Locane was drunk at the time.

Locane was originally sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Robert Reed.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office appealed the sentence. An Appellate Court decision called Locane's sentencing "excessively lenient" and ordered that she return to Superior Court for a new sentencing.

But after Reed did not follow the Appellate Court decision in the second sentencing, the Prosecutor’s Office again successfully appealed.

Judge Kevin Shanahan then sentenced Locane for a third time in February 2019 to five years in state prison. That sentence was again successfully appealed by the Prosecutor's Office.

Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski then sentenced Locane on Sept. 17, 2020, to eight years in prison. Locane lost the appeal of that sentence.

Locane is serving her sentence at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County and will not be eligible for parole until Dec. 20, 2024.

Matthew Murphy, a former assistant prosecutor, brought the cases against both Locane and Kulgod.Kulgod was a college student home on winter break when he went for a drive at about 10 a.m. on the day of the crash.

Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Lt. William Pauli testified in the trial that Kulgod's Ford Focus crossed the double yellow line on a curve and struck Louie's 1991 BMW in the right front with enough force that it was pushed off the road and struck a tree.

Testimony at the trial determined that Kulgod was speeding about 86 mph in a 45-mph zone at the time of the crash.

Kulgod's defense was that the accident was caused by someone who was tailgating him.

Kulgod was released April 1 from a residential work-release program at James A. Hemm House.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Plainsboro man guilty of fatal Hillsborough crash may return to prison