District Attorney Hoovler Announces State Prison Sentence
in Automobile Fatalities Case
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 5 -15 Years in State Prison
In Connection with the Deaths of Two Women
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, January 24, 2019, Christopher Perrella, 32, of Vernon, New Jersey, was sentenced by Orange County Court Judge Robert H. Freehill to five to fifteen years in state prison in connection with the deaths of two women, who were passengers in a car that Perrella had been driving on November 4, 2017. The District Attorney’s Office had recommended that Perrella be sentenced to six to eighteen years in prison On December 11, 2018, Perrella had pleaded guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide.
At the time of the collision, the defendant was driving a car containing a male friend, that friend’s fiancée, and Perrella’s girlfriend. The two couples had visited a possible wedding venue in the Town of Warwick. Both women were killed when the car crashed into a house on Glenwood Road, in the Town of Warwick. Perrella was also charged with driving while his ability to operate the car was impaired by both alcohol and marijuana.
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.
“Cases involving fatalities caused by impaired drivers demand severe state prison sentences,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “What should have been a trip planning one of the most joyous events in life, turned into a tragedy because of this defendant’s decision to drive while intoxicated. Fatalities like this are as tragic as they are preventable. I hope that this resolution brings some measure of closure to the families of both of the deceased women.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Kelly and Assistant District Attorney Robert DeMono.