Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow announced yesterday that Bloomfielder Vincent Cotugno, 21, who pleaded guilty to the charge of vehicular homicide, was sentenced Monday morning to four years in prison with an 85 percent parole ineligibility. Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin also required Cotugno to make restitution in the amount of $8,310 to the Appolito family, whose son Joseph died in the crash.
On June 26, 2005 Cotugno, driving a souped-up Subaru at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour, crashed on the Garden State Parkway. The crash killed his friend, 19-year-old Joseph Appolito, and injured Ryan Lantz, 19, and Justin Valle, 23, all of Bloomfield. The group was returning home from the defendant’s Bloomfield home after watching a late night boxing match on television. The high-speed crash occurred on the Nutley stretch of the Garden State Parkway.
According to the prosecutor's office, Cotugno admitted in court that he was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
At sentencing, Judge Ravin also told Cotugno he would have to surrender his driving privileges for seven years upon his release from jail.
“This case, on both sides of the isle, represents a parents’ worst nightmare, one family is still mourning the lost of their son, while the other laments their son’s prison term,†said Prosecutor Dow. “One can only hope that this sentence deters others from committing such a reckless act.â€
