2 Teens To Pay $15K, Serve 60 Days In Culvert Arson That Shut Down Parkway In Brick

BRICK, NJ — Two teenagers were sentenced to 60 days in juvenile detention after admitting they purposely set a fire in a culvert, shutting down the Garden State Parkway in Brick for 10 hours in January 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.

Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the prosecutor's office had wanted to identify the teens by name in announcing the resolution of the charges, but a judge ruled in they could only be identified by their initials, after the teens' attorneys opposed the release of their names.

The teens, I. J., 15, and A.R., 14, pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief in late 2022, Billhimer said. Their hometowns were not released.

The two admitted to purposely lighting a Christmas tree inside the drainage culvert near milepost 91 on the Garden State Parkway was on fire on Jan. 19, 2022.

The fire, which was reported about 5 p.m., forced authorities to shut down the Parkway in both directions for 10 hours, Billhimer said, snarling southbound commuter traffic for miles. Read more: Fire That Shut Parkway For 8 Hours Ruled Arson: State Police

The fire caused significant damage to the culvert, which is 5 feet in diameter and 300 feet long, and runs from just west of the southbound lanes under the Parkway to east of the northbound lanes in the area of Exit 91.

The concrete structure, part of the original construction of the Parkway when it was extended to Ocean County in the mid-1950s, was reinforced with a resin lining a number of years ago, and it was the resin lining that was severely damaged by the fire, authorities said. Read more: Parkway Fire Culvert Repair Will Cost Millions: Turnpike Official

The fire also damaged part of the stormwater management system; contracts totalling $3.5 million weres awarded by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for the repairs. Read more: Parkway Culvert Arson: $3.5M OK'd For Repair Contracts

The teens were arrested about a week after the fire in connection with the arson and various acts of delinquency related to it, Billhimer said.

In addition to being sentenced to 60 days in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center as a condition of three years' juvenile probation, I.J. and A.R. were sentenced to pay $15,000 in restitution, to be split evenly between them. Both also were ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and attend and complete a fire setter’s education program, Billhimer said.

Billhimer acknowledged "the diligent efforts of Assistant Prosecutor Iva Krasteva, who handled the case on behalf of the state, as well as the New Jersey State Police, Brick Township Police Department, and New Jersey Department of Transportation, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation."

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