New Jersey State Police Sergeant Charged in Drunken Highway Crash That Killed Father: Cop

A New Jersey police sergeant has been charged with vehicular homicide after allegedly killing a man in a drunken crash earlier this month.

Keith M. Gunter, 42, of Wanaka, was allegedly driving southbound on Route 23 — a major artery that cuts through North Jersey — around 11 p.m. on Oct. 15 when his pickup truck collided head-on with a sedan. drove highway, according to NJ.com.

Hamid Shabuddin, 55, of Paterson, a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, according to Riverdale police.

The driver was taken to a local hospital as Gunther, a sergeant with the East Hanover Police Department, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and driving under the influence, the newspaper reported.

Gunther, a 17-year veteran of the force, was ordered to surrender his driver’s license and passport and was later released on pretrial supervision.

His attorney, Robert Scrivo, told NJ.com on Tuesday that his client was a “man of great service” because he was deployed overseas during his time in the National Guard.

But he did not comment on the accusations.

Shabuddin, the victim, was married father of a teenage daughter who recently came to the United States from South Africa, according to NJ.com.

When the accident happened, he was going to work in a shared car.