43-Year-Old Bridgeton Man Apprehended Wednesday In Georgia On South Brunswick Fatal Crash Charges

Friday, July 5, 2024, 6:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ.- A 43-year-old Bridgeton, New Jersey man who was wanted after being charged in connection with running a red light that killed three people in an early April 2024, South Brunswick fatal crash was taken into custody in Georgia on Wednesday.

     According to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, on April 12, 2024, shortly after 9:30 a.m., members of the South Brunswick Police Department responded to multiple 911 Emergency Calls reporting a serious motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 1 and Ridge Road in South Brunswick.

     Upon arrival, Police Officers found that a tractor-trailer had struck a passenger van in the intersection. The initial investigation determined that following being struck by the tractor-trailer the passenger van collided with two other motor vehicles. 

     Within seconds of the crash, the tractor-trailer and the passenger van burst into flames, killing the driver of the passenger van, Charisse Nelson-Baily, 24, of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, and both passengers Daniel Vida, 28, also of Princeton Junction, and Maria Passalaris, 25, of Skillman, New Jersey. All three were pronounced deceased at the scene.

     The ensuing investigation by Officer Bryan Sites of the South Brunswick Police Department and Detective Sergeant Jonathan Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that a the time of the crash, Joseph Vega, 43, of Bridgeton, New Jersey was driving the tractor-trailer was carrying an overweight load of a concrete product when he failed to stop at the red light at the intersection, resulting in the fatal crash.

     Following the investigation, on May 29, 2024, Vega was charged with three counts of first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter; and three counts of second-degree Vehicular Homicide. On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, Vega was apprehended by the United States Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Georgia. Vega will be detained by Georgia authorities pending his extradition to New Jersey on the charges.

     Upon return to New Jersey, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office will file a pretrial detention motion to have Vega detained pending trial in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

“The rules of the court requires us to include a statement, that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”