A West Windsor man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after a head-on crash in Ewing Township in the early morning hours of Dec. 2 that killed one motorist and injured seven others.
David Lamar V, 22, was traveling southbound on Pennington Road in a 2018 Kia Optima with one passenger when his vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines and struck a 2007 Dodge Charger travelling in the opposite direction. A total of six people were in the Dodge.
The driver of the Dodge, Michael Sot, 20, of Clark, died on Dec. 4 as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office announced the vehicular manslaughter charge shortly after Sot died.
Lamar had earlier been charged with seven counts of second degree assault by auto, after investigation revealed that he was impaired while driving during a motor vehicle crash that caused serious bodily injuries.
According to police, Ewing Dispatch received multiple 911 calls at 2:07 a.m. reporting a two vehicle crash with injuries near the campus of The College of New Jersey, where five of the victims are students.
Responding officers encountered multiple trapped occupants in two vehicles, who were extricated by rescuers from Ewing’s Penninton Road, Prospect Heights and West Trenton fire stations.
View this post on Instagram Rest In Peace to our Brother Michael Sot, one of the most selfless and genuine people out there. We love you and we’ll never forget you❤️ Live ever die never A post shared by TCNJ Phi Kappa Psi (@tcnjphipsi) on Dec 4, 2018 at 11:29am PST
Six of the injured were listed in critical condition and two were listed as having non-life threatening injuries. Three of the passengers were transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and the remaining five were taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.
Police said that serious injuries sustained in the crash included broken bones, a ruptured bladder and a brain injury. Lamar himself was also hospitalized.
Sot, who was the designated driver, and four other passengers in the Dodge were students at TCNJ—Danielle DeFlores, 21, an open-options major from Brick; Matthew DeGenova, 21, an accounting major from Wall Township; Anthony Galante, 19, a finance major from North Bellmore, NY; and Ryan Moore, 21, a marketing major from Midland Park.
Four of the victims are members of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, according to William Walker, a former president of the fraternity. A GoFundMe page has been established for the victims. As of Dec. 5, the drive had raised $111,185.
Lamar was being held at the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell. A hearing on a motion to detain Lamar without bail is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 1:30 p.m. at 400 South Warren Street in Trenton, second floor.
