Orange County News

For Immediate Release                                                                        Contact: Christopher Borek
May 29, 2018                                                                                   845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c

District Attorney Hoovler Announce Charges in Automobile Fatalities

New Jersey Man Charged with Aggravated Vehicular Manslaughter 

In Connection with the Deaths of Two Women 

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, Christopher Perrella, 32, of Vernon, New Jersey, was arraigned on an Indictment charging him with: Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (4 counts), Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree (4 counts), Manslaughter in the Second Degree (2 counts), Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (8 counts), and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence off Alcohol or Drugs (4 counts).  The charges were filed in connection with the deaths of two women who were passengers in a car that Perrella had been driving and that crashed into a house on November 4, 2017. Perrella is charged with driving while his ability to operate the car was impaired by both alcohol and marijuana.

Bail was set by Orange County Court Judge Robert H. Freehill in the amount of $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond.  Perrella is next scheduled to appear in County Court on June 14, 2018.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of Warwick Police Department for their investigation and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit for their aid in the investigation.

             “Fatalities caused by those who drive while impaired by alcohol or other substances are as tragic as they are preventable,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “I thank the Town of Warwick Police Department and the New York State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit for their investigation of this matter during the grand jury investigation. My deepest condolences go out to the family of both of the deceased women in this case.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Kelly and Assistant District Attorney Robert DeMono.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.