Bail Doubled for Alleged Drunk Driver Who Crashed, Killed Baby, Couple

Bail was more than doubled for a Mountain Lakes man accused of drunk driving when he crashed on Route 80 Saturday morning, leading to the deaths of a man, woman, and baby.

Sitting in Superior Court in Morristown, Judge William McGovern raised Bhavuk Uppal’s bail from $300,000 with no 10-percent option to $750,000 bail with no 10-percent option.

Local and state police are continuing their investigation into the fiery, multi-car crash that killed three people over the weekend in Morris County.

Just after 1 a.m. Saturday, July 11, a Cadillac Escalade driven by Bhavuk Uppal, 22, of Mountain Lakes, on Route 80 in Rockaway Township crashed into a sedan carrying a man, woman, and baby, New Jersey State Police said. As a result, the car carrying the trio then crashed into the vehicle in front of it, sparking a fire that would fully engulf the middle automobile in flames, police said.

Uppal’s vehicle ran off the road as well. He and the two occupants of the first vehicle were taken to Morristown Medical Center to treat their injuries, but the trio inside the middle vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m., police said.

Their identities have not been made public.

Uppal was charged with three counts of death by auto and two counts of assault by auto along with driving while intoxicated. At the time of the incident, Uppal was driving with a suspended license.

A death by auto conviction comes with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $200,000 fine. Assault by auto convictions can bring between five and 10 years in prison with $150,000 in fines each.

The triple-fatal crash was one of several over the weekend, now being touted as one of New Jersey’s deadliest days in recent memory.

A crash in Warren Township on Route 78 claimed the lives of a 39-year-old man and his 9-year-old son; a 61-year-old woman driving as a passenger in a vehicle in Atlantic County died in a head-on crash; and a 25-year-old motorcyclist succumbed to his injuries hours after colliding with a car in Lodi.

Pictured: Bhuvak Uppal, 22, of Mountain Lakes. Photo Courtesy New Jersey State Police