By: Yuritza Arroyo
Monmouth County authorities announced that a local man has been criminally charged in connection with a motor vehicle collision that claimed the life of a young woman in Marlboro Township early last year.
According to officials, Walter Decanio, 59, of Howell Township, is charged with first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter while driving under the Influence of Alcohol and second-degree Vehicular Homicide for his role in the death of a 22-year-old female resident of Monroe Township (Middlesex County).
Authorities say shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 13, officers from the Marlboro Township Police Department and Old Bridge Police Department responded to the intersection of U.S. Route 9 and County Route 520/Newman Springs Road in the Morganville section of Marlboro.
According to Police, at that location, officers located the two vehicles involved in the collision: a 2019 Cadillac XT5 crossover operated by Decanio and a 2018 Nissan Altima.
The female victim sustained multiple severe injuries due to the collision and was pronounced deceased a short while later. Decanio was uninjured.
Officials say an investigation involving members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Marlboro Township Police Department determined that Decaniowas driving nearly 80 miles per hour and under the influence of alcohol, traveling southbound on U.S. Route 9 when he collided with the side of the Nissan Altima as it passed through the intersection westbound on Route 520.
Decanio was also issued summonses for Failure to Observe a Traffic Control Device, Failure to Wear a Seat Belt, Speeding, Reckless Driving, and Operating a Vehicle while Under the Influence of Alcohol.
He turned himself into authorities without incident last week, pending a first appearance to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court.