Two DWI accidents in Cape May County yield fatalities and homicide charges
New Jersey DWI laws carry serious penalties, including a mandatory loss of driving privileges and possible county jail time. These penalties do not, however, deter a certain percentage of the population from drinking and driving and creating dangerous conditions on the roadways in New Jersey.
There were two fatal DWI crashes in Cape May County this last week. On June 24, 2012, Chaz DeSalis, a 21 year old Cape May County resident was driving his car south on the Garden State Parkway at 3:14 a.m., when the vehicle veered to the right and struck a rumble strip and a guide post before returning to the roadway. The state police said he then over corrected which caused the vehicle to veer back to the left of the roadway where it struck a tree. A passenger, William Duhadway, 19, of Havertown, Pennsylvania died from injuries suffered in the accident. DeSalis and his brother suffered serious injuries. The state police charged DeSalis with driving while intoxicated and the case is pending further investigation. DeSalis may be charged with homicide should the lab results confirm drunk driving.
On July 31, 2012, Joshua Malmgren, was allegedly driving drunk on Bayshore Road in Lower Township when he veered out of his lane and struck two young pedestrians walking from an ice cream parlor on Route 47. Middle Township resident, Nioami Lazicki, 15, and her cousin, Ashley Dauber, 13, of Philadelphia were killed in the accident. The Middle Township police arrested Malmgren and the charges include two counts of vehicle homicide. He is lodged in the Cape County Jail on a $50,000.00 bail. However, the charges could be upgraded to manslaughter or aggravated manslaughter depending upon lab results.
These cases underscore how dangerous it is to drink and drive. Aggravated manslaughter is punishable by mandatory state prison of 10 to 30 years. Manslaughter is punishable by mandatory state prison of 5 to 10 years.
