UPDATED: Bogota Man Charged in Fiery Route 80 Crash that Killed Two

A 29-year-old Bogota man had a suspended license when the pick-up truck he was driving collided with a broken down Honda on Route 80, killing the car’s driver and a passenger in a fiery crash Tuesday, authorities said.

The wreck happened around 11 p.m. when the Ford-150 pick-up struck the disabled Honda Civic in the center local lane of Route 80 east in Lodi, said Lt. Stephen Jones of the New Jersey State Police. Both cars erupted in flames.

The Honda’s driver, 24-year-old Passaic resident Esmanuel Perez, and an unidentified rear passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, Jones said. Front seat passenger Juan Torres, 28, also of Passaic, was in critical condition at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Police charged the pick-up’s driver, Vinicio Acosta, with causing death while driving suspended. Acosta was being held on $20,000 bail at the Bergen County Jail Wednesday.

Acosta’s license was suspended 18 times since August 2005, according to Motor Vehicle Commission spokesman Mike Horan. One suspension was for driving without insurance. 

The most recent suspension was parking-related in Newark, Horan said. 

His driving record showed nine violations for various offenses, including careless driving, Horan said. He had no record of drug or alcohol-related offenses. 

Updated 3:30 p.m. Wednesday

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