Driver in stolen car who caused fatal crash while being chased by cops is sentenced to prison

A New Jersey man driving a stolen car who caused a fatal crash at an intersection on Route 9[1] in Old Bridge while being pursued by police[2] has been sentenced 12 years in state prison.

Samuel Villar, 21, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, will have to serve more than 10 years before he is eligible for parole, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

The crash on Nov.

9, 2022, killed an occupant of one of the other vehicles -- Arturo Tlapa Luna, 33, of Freehold -- and injured several members of his family, authorities said. Luna's father, wife and two daughters[3] were also in the vehicle.

Villar and a 17-year-old traveled to Marlboro planning to burglarize vehicles, officials said.

Residents saw what the pair was trying to do and called the police, authorities said.

A Marlboro police officer responded and started to chase the car. The pursuit ended after the car, being driven west on Spring Valley Road, ran a red light at the intersection with Route 9 shortly after 2 a.m. That car was stolen in New Brunswick on Oct.

23.

Villar pleaded guilty in June to eluding, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of aggravated assault.

He was sentenced Monday to a concurrent 12-year term.

After finishing his prison term, Villar will be on probation for five years and his license will be suspended for two years.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].[5]

References

1. ^ caused a fatal crash at an intersection on Route 9 (www.nj.com)
2. ^ pursued by police (www.nj.com)
3. ^ Luna's father, wife and two daughters (www.nj.com)
4. ^ NJ.com (www.nj.com)
5. ^ [email protected] (www.nj.com)