By: Richard L. Smith
RLS Media has learned that a Bergen County CEO has been charged with vehicular homicide following a devastating late-October crash in West Orange that claimed the life of a 24-year-old woman.
The collision occurred just before midnight near Pleasant Valley Way and Belle Terre Road, not far from the I-280 ramp.
West Orange Police told RLS Media in a preliminary statement that emergency responders, including West Orange police, firefighters, and medics, arrived to find a violent two-car wreck involving a dark Toyota carrying three passengers and a white Tesla.
The crash left one passenger in the Toyota, identified as Ms. Flaribel Hiciano, with life-threatening injuries. She was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, but doctors were unable to save her due to massive bleeding from multiple injuries.
Two other passengers in the Toyota survived and were treated at RWJ Barnabas Health.
The Tesla was driven by 37-year-old Mr. Robert J. Fazzino, the CEO of MNPK Global, a marketing agency based in Rochelle Park.
Authorities allege that Fazzino refused to take a DWI test at the scene.
He was taken into custody on November 18 and charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide while under the influence, and reckless death by auto, among other offenses.
Court documents indicate the crash occurred near a school crossing, which heightened the severity of the charges.
Hiciano, a dental assistant in South Orange and a graduate of Barringer High School in Newark, had recently moved to West Orange, not far from the crash site.
Friends and family remembered her as a dedicated healthcare professional and a kind, spirited individual with a promising future.
It remains unclear why Fazzino’s arrest came weeks after the crash.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The tragedy has left the West Orange and Newark communities shaken, mourning the loss of a young life cut short by what prosecutors describe as extreme recklessness.