Stafford man found guilty in death of Pinelands student, badly hurting another
TOMS RIVER - A Stafford man was found guilty Friday of manslaughter and assault by auto after a jury concluded that his reckless driving led to the death of a 15-year-old Pinelands Regional High School student in Little Egg Harbor and the injuries of another teen.
Michael Pillarella, 28, faces up to 15 years in state prison for his crimes when he is scheduled to be sentenced by state Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan on May 5, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
The fatal crash took place on the night of Jan. 30, 2021 in the area of Radio Road and Baltusrol Court, which one neighbor testified had sounded “like an explosion,” during the nearly three-week jury trial in Ryan’s courtroom at the county Justice Complex.
Related: Stafford man on trial in Little Egg Harbor crash that killed teen, badly injured another
Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Alyssa Mandara said that Pillarella was under the influence of alcohol, Xanax, methadone and fentanyl when he got behind the wheel of his 2017 white Hyundai Elantra and drove 80 mph in a 45 mph zone on Radio Road.
Hours before the crash, Pillarella had been fired from his job after his boss caught him nodding off at work, Mandara said. He proceeded to a bar, where he drank two double shots of vodka and a pint of beer.
Surveillance video from the bar showed him swaying and nodding, with his head down on a table. Ultimately, he was asked to leave the establishment, Mandara said.
A short time after, while driving at almost twice the speed limit on Radio Road, Pillarella lost control of the car at a curve in the road, crossed over the centerline, and collided with an oncoming 2006 Toyota XB, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Little Egg Harbor Patrolman Robert Peschko was among the first police officers on the scene. He testified that the driver of the mangled red Toyota, Kaitlyn Edwards, then 17, was complaining of chest pain and starting to lose consciousness. Her left leg had “a half-dollar-size hole in between her knee and her shin bone,” he said.
The passenger in the Toyota, Gianna Palmieri, 15, “was doing something called a death chortle,” having a hard time breathing, Peschko said.
Palmieri had become compressed between the front passenger seat and the dashboard of the car and local firefighters were forced to cut off the roof of the car to free her, which “took awhile,” Peschko said.
Both girls were students at Pinelands. Palmieri suffered a traumatic brain injury and died from her injuries on Feb. 9, 2021. Edwards was hospitalized for two weeks and endured multiple surgeries, including the removal of part of her intestines, Mandara told the jury.
Related: Stafford man charged with vehicular homicide after girl dies from injuries
Defense attorney Alex Molloy of the Public Defender’s Office told the jury in his opening statement that the fatal crash was “a tragic accident, but it was an accident,” and not manslaughter.
Molloy argued that Pillarella’s blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit after the crash, and that drinking and driving, or taking medication and driving, is not illegal unless it impairs a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle.
Due to his own injuries, Pillarella was taken by helicopter to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City where a warrant was obtained for a sample of Pillarella’s blood. After he was treated, he signed himself out of the hospital against medical advice, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporters Erik Larsen and Kathleen Hopkins at elarsen@gannettnj.com or khopkins@app.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Stafford NJ man found guilty in death of high school student
