‘High’ NJ man drove on shoulder to pass disabled truck on right and killed its driver, cops say

An Old Bridge man has been accused of driving while high on cannabis and killing a truck driver on a bridge in Middlesex County.

William L. Hunter Jr. is now charged with third-degree strict liability vehicular homicide in the grisly May death of Jamal Ebron on the Edison Bridge in Sayreville.

Ebron, a Jersey City resident, was pinned between his stranded truck and the Hyundai Kona driven by Hunter around 5 a.m. on May 21, police said.

At least one of Ebron's legs was severed in the wreck and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash happened on the northbound side of the Edison Bridge along Route 9. It runs parallel to the Driscoll Bridge over the Raritan River. 

Carla Harrington, one of Ebron’s siblings, has been advocating for justice for her brother.

“As a family, we are not seeking conflict but are instead calling for transparency, accountability, and justice for Jamal. We want his life to be honored and for the truth of his death to be fully revealed,” Harrington has said in previous statements about the case.

Read More: Middlesex County bridge death leaves questions for victim's family

Truck gets stranded, then struck by driver trying to pass on shoulder

At 4:51 a.m., Sayreville police was dispatched to the Route 9 North Edison Bridge in
for a disabled tractor trailer.

Shortly after, Sayreville police received additional 911 calls that a motor vehicle crash had happened, according to the affidavit filed in Hunter’s arrest.

The tractor-trailer was in the right lane, while the Hyundai was in the shoulder.

State Department of Transportation footage of the crash shows that the Hyundai was trying to pass the disabled tractor-trailer along the highway’s right shoulder when it struck and pinned the victim, according to the same police affidavit.

Car was speeding upon deadly impact, data shows

The 33-year-old Hunter was taken to a hospital and treated for a broken knee, the affidavit said. He agreed to provide a blood sample that morning.

A toxicology report by NMS labs shows Hunter had marijuana (THC) in his blood at the time of the crash.

Investigators searched the Kona and found “multiple empty packages of pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes and empty packages of marijuana edibles.”

The Hyundai’s electronic data recorder also showed that Hunter had been speeding over 80 kilometers an hour just a half-second before impact with no brake applied.

The speed was written as "miles per hour" instead of kilometers in the police complaint, which the prosecutor's office later said was a typo.

At the time it struck Ebron, the subcompact SUV was traveling slightly slower, with the brake finally applied, the data recorder showed.

A warrant was issued for Hunter’s arrest last week. He was processed on the criminal charge on Monday.

Conviction of third-degree strict liability vehicular homicide carries a mandatory prison sentence of three to five years in New Jersey.

Editor's note: This has been amended to include the prosecutor's clarification on speed.

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