Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives John W. Fodor and Raritan Borough Chief of Police Raymond Nolte announced that Ronald B. Rebernik, 62, of Raritan, N.J., was sentenced to 15 years in New Jersey State Prison for committing first degree Vehicular Homicide and second degree Assault by Auto, all of which occurred within 1,000 feet of St. Ann’s Elementary School property in the Borough of Raritan, Somerset County.
Prosecutor Robertson stated that the sentencing took place after a negotiated plea agreement, where defendant Rebernik pled guilty to the Vehicular Homicide and Assault by Auto charges, in addition to other possessory controlled dangerous substance offenses.
Officials say the crimes occurred during the early evening hours of July 7, 2018, when defendant Rebernik who was under the influence of heroin was operating his motor vehicle in a residential area on Anderson Street in the Borough of Raritan, near the St. Ann’s Elementary School. Defendant Rebernik struck a family of three who was walking on the sidewalk, killing an infant boy and seriously injuring his five-year-old brother and the children’s mother.
The State was represented in this case by Chief Assistant Somerset County Prosecutor Merrill M. Mezzacappa.