Cop charged in double-fatal DWI crash released pending trial
An Edison police officer accused of driving drunk and killing two passengers when his car careened into a utility pole was ordered released pending trial Friday.
Amitoj Oberoi, 29, wore a neck brace as he appeared at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville. State Superior Court Judge Peter Tober ordered him to surrender his passport and report weekly to pretrial services as he faces a raft of charges stemming from the August off-duty crash.
“It’s obviously a tragic situation,” Oberoi’s attorney, James Wronko, said in a brief interview after the hearing. “He extends his complete condolences for the families of the victims.”
Authorities say Oberoi was driving his 2007 Audi Q7 at “a high rate of speed” on Aug. 27 when he lost control of the vehicle, sliding off the roadway and crashing through several trees and lampposts before striking a utility pole.
The crash, which occurred around 6:22 a.m. on Route 27 in Franklin Township in Somerset County, took the lives of two men in the backseat.
One passenger was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene while another had to be extricated from the vehicle and later died of his injuries. The front-seat passenger was treated for minor injuries and released.
Images from the scene[1] showed the silver Audi was completely wrecked by the crash, coming to rest on a sidewalk in front of a hair salon.
Oberoi was hospitalized following the crash and arrested while receiving treatment for his injuries.
Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said in a statement following his arrest that while the crash occurred off duty, “given the egregious nature of the charges against him,” the township was moving to fire Oberoi from his post.
Wronko said his client is awaiting toxicology results. County prosecutors allege he was over the legal limit for blood-alcohol levels at the time of the crash.
He faces two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide as well as charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, careless driving, improper passing and failing to keep right.
Tober ordered Oberoi to surrender his passport and avoid contact with the victims and their families pending trial. He will have to check in regularly with the judiciary’s pretrial services division as a condition of his release.
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References
- ^ Images from the scene (newbrunswicktoday.com)
- ^ NJ.com (www.nj.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.nj.com)