Driver in Mount Laurel Accident Charged with Vehicular Homicide
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October 10, 2009 – Mount Holly, NJ
Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and Acting Mount Laurel Police Chief Dennis A. Cribben Jr. said Stephen R. Ford, 27, of Maple Shade, was charged Friday with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of assault by auto resulting from the August accident that killed two county residents.
According to an investigation by the prosecutor's office's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit and the Mount Laurel Police Department, Ford was driving westbound on Route 38 near the intersection of Midlantic Drive about 2:30 p.m. when he accelerated to prevent a sedan from merging in front of him. He lost control of his pickup truck and struck the curb, became airborne into oncoming eastbound traffic and collided with a Toyota Highlander SUV and a white GMC box truck. The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office says Ford was high on marijuana and driving in excess of 80 miles per hour when the accident occurred.
The driver of the SUV, Jean Bernard, 63, of Mansfield, died in the Aug. 9 collision. A passenger in Ford's pickup truck, Danielle K. Howey, 22, of Maple Shade, was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden and died later that day. The driver of the box truck was also injured.
Ford is free on $100,000 bail. Bail conditions, set by Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert, prohibit Ford from drinking alcohol, using drugs or operating a vehicle.
Mount Laurel Police are asking anyone with information about the accident to call 856-234-1414, ext. 526.
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