Howell Man Was DUI In Fatal Marlboro Car Crash: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD, NJ – A Howell man was under the influence of alcohol when he was involved in a car crash that claimed the life of a young woman in Marlboro early last year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said Wednesday.

Walter Decanio, 59, of Howell is charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol, and second-degree vehicular homicide in the death of the 22-year-old woman, who was a resident of Monroe in Middlesex County, the prosecutor's office said.

The accident happened nearly a year ago, on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. The woman's identity was not released.

An investigation of the crash involved members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Marlboro Township Police Department.

It determined that Decanio was driving nearly 80 miles per hour and under the influence of alcohol, traveling southbound on Route 9 in Marlboro when he collided with the side of the Nissan Altima as it passed through the intersection westbound on Route 520, the prosecutor's office said.

Decanio was also issued summonses for failure to observe a traffic control device, failure to wear a seat belt, speeding, reckless driving, and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, the prosecutor's office said.

The accident happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. Feb. 13, 2022. Marlboro and Old Bridge police responded to the intersection of Route 9 and County Route 520/Newman Springs Road in the Morganville section of Marlboro.

There, police saw the two vehicles involved in the collision: a 2019 Cadillac XT5 crossover operated by Decanio and a 2018 Nissan Altima.

The woman sustained multiple severe injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced dead a short while later, the prosecutor's office said. Decanio was uninjured.

Last week, Decanio surrendered himself to authorities without incident, pending a first appearance to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court, authorities said.

Anyone with information about this matter is being asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Brian Boryszewski at 800-533-7443 or Marlboro Police Department Corporal David Ruditsky at 732-536-0100.

This case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Doyle. Decanio is being represented by Mitchell J. Ansell of Ocean Township.

Convictions on criminal charges of this nature are punishable by up to 20 years in state prison, with such terms subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA), which stipulates that 85 percent of the sentences be served before the possibility of parole, the prosecutor's office said.