Rookie Cop Faces Criminal Charges For Fatal Off-Duty Car Crash
By David Madden and Cleve Bryan
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (CBS) — A Burlington Township police officer is facing a charge of vehicular homicide after a car crash last month in Florence Township.
Officer Justin Rodriguez was off duty when his Acura Integra struck a utility pole on West Front Street in Florence Township just after 2 a.m. on September 23.
The crash killed the lone passenger with him, 27-year-old Ariana Williams of Florence. "It's like a nightmare. Everyday you just hope that she's going to somehow come back through the door, but we know it's not happening," said her mother, Chavella Williams.
Toxicology shows the 25-year-old Rodriguez had consumed what Burlington County investigators label "an excessive amount of alcohol" before the accident.
"There's days I don't want to get up, but I can hear her say 'Tat go on.' I can hear that, I can truly feel her around me," said Tatiana Williams of her late twin sister. "It's been terrible, it's like I have a hole in my heart," Ronald Williams, their father said.
The 11 month veteran of the Burlington Township force had been on desk duty since the crash.
He is now suspended without pay, and is free on $50,000 bail as the case proceeds to a grand jury.