Prosecutor: Essex County Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Union County Wreck

An Essex County man admitted Tuesday to leading police on a pursuit that ended with a fatal car crash in Union County in 2013.

David Graham, 44, of Newark, pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree death by auto in New Jersey state Superior Court, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Graham was driving a pickup truck in Union Township in 2013 and Regina Rowland, 45, of Orange, was a passenger. Graham was driving through Union Township when a patrol vehicle attempted to pull him over, according to authorities. Graham, however, sped away from the patrol officer, leading to a vehicle pursuit through Union Township and culminating in a fatal wreck in Hillside, the prosecutor’s office said.

During the chase, the prosecutor’s office said Graham tried to squeeze his pickup truck between two vehicles ahead of him on the highway, but struck both, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a fence and then a telephone pole.

Graham attempted to flee the scene on foot, but was arrested by responding officers. Rowland was pronounced dead at the scene.

Graham is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in state prison, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for June 26.