Man Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Brick Woman

A 31-year-old Point Pleasant man faces five to 10 years in jail after admitting he was under the influence of a prescription painkiller and anti-anxiety medication when he got into a head-on collision that claimed the life of an 80-year-old Brick woman, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press reported Robert P. Cook Jr. of Mossbank Road pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide of Jane C. Eager before Superior Court Judge James M. Blaney on Monday.

Authorities said Cook was intoxicated on March 9, 2013, when his 2008 Honda Accord veered into oncoming traffic and collided with Eager’s BMW on Jordan Road in Brick, between Colonial and Meridian drives. She died at the scene.

Cook, being questioned in court by his attorney, Edward Dimon, acknowledged that at the time of the crash, he was under the influence of oxycodone, a painkiller, and Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, both prescribed to him as a result of injuries he suffered in a car accident about five years ago.

Cook said he had no recollection of the accident that killed Eager, but he acknowledged his recklessness in driving while under the influence of the drugs caused her death.

Dimon said the amount of the drugs in Cook’s system after the accident indicated he had been taking dosages consistent with what had been prescribed to him.

The range of punishment for vehicular homicide is five to 10 years in prison.

Cook has been free on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Blaney on Aug. 21.