Police officer convicted of reckless NJ deadly crash off Parkway

🚔 A Hillside police officer was convicted of vehicular homicide after a jury found he caused a deadly crash on the Garden State Parkway.

💔 The crash killed a married couple, both pronounced dead after the pickup truck went airborne and struck their car.

⚖️ The ex-officer now faces up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing set for May.

A police officer driving to work while under the influence has been found guilty of killing a married couple in a Monmouth County car crash.

John P. McClave III, of Toms River, was convicted of two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide by an Ocean County jury on Tuesday.

In October 2021, McClave was headed to his job as a Hillside police officer in Union County, when his pickup truck sailed off the northbound lanes of the Parkway, down an embankment and hitting a Toyota Corolla along Asbury Avenue.

Maryland couple killed after pickup truck went airborne

Maryland residents, 40-year-old Angel L. Acevedo, Jr. and his wife, 35-year-old Daniela Correia Salles, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The 38-year-old McClave was treated for serious injuries at a local hospital.

Case moved to Ocean County over potential conflict of interest

Investigators found McClave was driving his 2018 GMC Canyon pickup recklessly while “under the influence of intoxicating substances,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.

In March 2022, McClave was charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, failure to maintain lanes, failure to wear a seatbelt, and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.

At that point, he was suspended without pay.

Police said the pickup truck did not change direction or slow down significantly after it left the Parkway.

While the crash happened in Tinton Falls and was handled by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the case was transferred to Ocean County Superior Court in 2024, due to a potential conflict of interest.

Officer faces up to 20 years in prison

McClave’s sentencing has been set for May 8.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in state prison and would have to serve 85% of whatever term he is given before the possibility of parole.

Before his move to Baltimore, Acevedo grew up in Atlantic Highlands and went to Henry Hudson Regional School.

Victims remembered for careers in engineering and medicine

He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Dartmouth College, followed by a master’s degree from Naval Postgraduate School, according to an online obituary for the couple.

Acevedo was ultimately appointed Chief of Mission Network Communications at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Salles had become a doctor in her native Brazil before moving to the United States and attending John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The same obituary mourned the couple as soulmates.

These 31 convicted killers were pardoned by Gov. Murphy

In a one year span, Gov. Phil Murphy granted clemency to over 283 individuals convicted of various crimes. Of those, at least 31 have been pardoned and released early from state prison after they were convicted of murder and aggravated manslaughter. After release, each person is subject to five years of parole supervision.

Gallery Credit: Rick Rickman

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