Police charge New York man with vehicular homicide.
By: Lea Kahn
An 18-year-old New York City man whose car struck and killed a motorist who was changing a flat tire on his car on Route 1 on Friday has been charged with vehicular homicide, police said.
Louis Caraballo of Brooklyn also was charged with driving under the influence, driving under the influence while underage, having an open container of alcoholic beverage and reckless driving, police said.
Mr. Caraballo was traveling north on the Route 1 Freeway near Whitehead Road around 9 p.m. Friday when he lost control of his car and struck Sanjaykum Patel, 29, of East Rutherford.
Mr. Patel was attempting to change a flat rear tire on the driver’s side of his minivan, which was parked on the shoulder of the road, police said. Roads were wet from rainfall Friday.
Mr. Patel, who was trapped between his minivan and the car driven by Mr. Caraballo, died at the scene, police said. Mr. Caraballo and a passenger, Robert Hernandez, 20, of Brooklyn, suffered cuts and scrapes. They were taken to Capital Health System at Fuld, where they were treated and released, police said.
The accident is being investigated by Detective Joe Amodio and Patrolmen David Burns and Todd Sparks of the Lawrence Township Police Department, and Detective Veldon Harris of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, police said.
Mr. Caraballo is being held at the Mercer County Corrections Center on $300,000 bail.