SOUTH BRUNSWICK – A South Jersey tractor-trailer driver who was charged in an April 12 crash in which three people in a van died on Route 1, was arrested Wednesday in Georgia by U.S. Marshals.
Joseph Vega, 43, of Bridgeton, was arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Georgia and will be housed in Georgia pending extradition, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced.
Vega has been charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and three counts of second-degree vehicular homicide.
First-degree crimes carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Around 9:36 a.m. April 12 police responded to Route 1 and Ridge Road for a vehicle crash.
When officers arrived they located a tractor-trailer that had struck a passenger van at the intersection. The van then collided with two other vehicles and both the tractor-trailer and van caught fire.
Three people in the van were pronounced dead at the scene – the driver, Charisse Nelson-Bailey, 24, of Princeton Junction; and passengers, Daniel Vida, 28, of Princeton Junction, and Maria Passalarlis, 25, of the Skillman section of Montgomery.
The three were riding in the van to an adult day program in Princeton. Vida and Passalaris attended a program for those with disabilities at the Red Ribbon Academy, while Nelson-Bailey was a staff member.
An investigation by South Brunswick Officer Bryan Sites and Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Jonathan Berman determined the tractor-trailer driven by Vega was transporting an oversized concrete load that failed to stop for a red traffic light at the intersection, the prosecutor’s office said.
Vega, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, was charged with aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide on May 29, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Following the crash, authorities attempted to contact Vega, and were unsuccessful and then discovered he had left New Jersey, the prosecutor’s office said.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call South Brunswick Officer Sites at 732-329-4646 or Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Berman at 732-745-4328.
Email: [email protected]
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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