On July 8, state Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr., sitting in Freehold, sentenced Diana Hoffman, 30, of Blackwood, to a prison term of 15 years, with a five-year period of parole ineligibility, for her role in the death of New Jersey State Police Trooper Marc K. Castellano on June 6, 2010.
According to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, on April 4, Hoffman pleaded guilty before Mellaci to one count of eluding in the second degree, one count of false public alarms in the first degree, and the motor vehicle offenses of reckless driving and speeding.
Hoffman was arrested by law enforcement authorities on June 6, 2010. Earlier that day, Hoffman had stopped her car on the shoulder of the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway in Ocean County, just south of the Monmouth County border, when a state trooper drove toward her to render assistance.
As the trooper neared her vehicle, Hoffman drove away at a high rate of speed. When the trooper activated his lights in an attempt to stop her, Hoffman accelerated to speeds exceeding 100 mph while weaving through traffic and, on several occasions, nearly lost control of her vehicle.
Hoffman exited the parkway at Exit 98 in Wall Township and continued east on Route 138, again driving at speeds exceeding 100 mph and running through a red light. The state police terminated their pursuit of Hoffman due to the danger posed by her driving, according to the press release.
Hoffman’s car was later observed in Freehold Township by a Howell police officer and another state police trooper. Once Hoffman saw these officers, she quickly drove away at a high rate of speed despite the fact that neither officer pursued her.
Later that day, Hoffman’s car was observed near a ramp to Interstate 195 in Howell by an off-duty trooper who saw Hoffman standing outside of her car. Once the trooper activated his lights and pulled near her, Hoffman fled on foot before he could speak with her. Hoffman was eventually found near the woods along the highway and was arrested by the state police troopers and Howell officers.
In support of her actions, Hoffman falsely claimed that she had been carjacked, forced to drive erratically and to elude police by a man who held her at gunpoint in her car. Hoffman falsely identified the gunman to police by description and name, according to the press release.
At least one news organization broadcast a photograph and the name of the individual Hoffman had provided to police. Authorities later determined that Hoffman had fabricated the story about the armed man.
Among those responding to the report of a carjacking was state Trooper Marc K. Castellano, who was participating in a training exercise at the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township. Castellano and other police officials reported to the scene in Howell and participated in a search in the area of Interstate 195 for the alleged gunman described by Hoffman.
While participating in this search with officers from various law enforcement agencies, Castellano was struck by a Volkswagen Jetta being driven by Robert Swan, then 20, of Jackson.
An investigation into the collision between Swan’s vehicle and Castellano was conducted and led to motor vehicle summonses for speeding and careless driving being issued to Swan. The investigation found that criminal charges against Swan were not warranted, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutor’s press release about Hoffman’s sentencing makes no mention as to when or in what venue the motor vehicle summonses that were issued to Swan will be resolved.
Swan’s role in the June 6, 2010, incident did not prevent him from completing his final year at the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
Despite being flown to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center Trauma Unit in Neptune, Castellano later succumbed to his injuries. At the time of his death, Castellano was a decorated six-year veteran of the state police. Castellano, 29, of Howell, is survived by his wife and two young children.
Castellano and Swan, the young man who struck and killed the state trooper, both graduated from Jackson Memorial High School.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation of Hoffman’s carjacking claims revealed there was no such gunman who forced her to commit the actions leading to her apprehension. The person she identified as being the gunman was later located in Camden, and his whereabouts at the time of the incident were established to be elsewhere.
As a result, Hoffman was charged with eluding on June 6. Castellano’s death led to the false public alarm charge being filed the following day.
According to the prosecutor’s office, although Hoffman did not directly cause the trooper’s death, the statute renders Hoffman strictly liable for his death as a consequence for her communicating a false report resulting in a mass police response putting law enforcement, specifically Castellano, in danger that ultimately led to his death.
OnApril 29, Hoffman was sentenced on a separate eluding charge filed in Burlington County for similar conduct that occurred in that jurisdiction on June 3, 2010. Hoffman was sentenced on that charge to a sevenyear sentence with a three-and-a-half-year period of parole ineligibility.
The eluding and false public alarms sentence imposed on July 8 in Monmouth County will run concurrent with each other, but consecutive to the Burlington County sentence. The court also suspended Hoffman’s driver’s license for one year for both the speeding and reckless driving citations issued in the case, to be imposed consecutively.