Repeat Convicted Drunk Driver Sentenced In Fatal DWI Crash On Route 202/206

BEDMINSTER, NJ — A repeat convicted drunk driver and Bedminster man was sentenced recently in the fatal DWI crash on Route 202/206 in 2020 that took the life of Michael Sivulich, 65, of Bedminster Township, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

George L. Rodriguez, 68, of Bedminster Township, was sentenced on Nov. 10 by Judge Peter Tober to five years in state prison with 85 percent to be served without parole on charges of second-degree death by auto, third-degree driving while suspended and causing death, fourth-degree driving while suspended for a second or subsequent DWI, third-degree insurance fraud, and third-degree motor vehicle title fraud.

Rodriguez was also sentenced on motor vehicle summonses for driving while suspended and reckless driving. Rodriguez had previously pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 23, 2022.

The sentencing and charges followed a deadly crash on Nov. 13, 2020, at around 6:47 p.m., when Rodriguez was driving his SUV on Routes 202/206 North in Bedminster, said McDonald.

Just prior to the crash, Rodriguez was driving north in the leftmost lane of Route 202/206 approaching the intersection with River Road when he steered left, according to eyewitnesses, around a concrete barrier and crossed onto the oncoming lanes on the southbound side of the road.

Rodriguez then hit Sivulich's compact sedan head-on at 50 mph. The investigation revealed that Rodriguez never hit the brakes or made any attempt to avoid the crash.

At the scene, Rodriguez told officers that he was trying to make a left turn, and that he was "going the wrong way apparently," according to the report.

Sivulich was taken to an area hospital where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

During his guilty plea, Rodriguez admitted that his driver’s license has been suspended since 2012 due to multiple prior convictions for driving while intoxicated, according to the report.

Rodriguez also admitted that he defrauded both the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and an insurance company for nearly two years. Rodriguez had his vehicle fraudulently registered with the NJMVC and insured under the name and address of an acquaintance, according to an investigation.

The investigation was conducted by officers from the Bedminster Township Police Department, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, and members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team.

The case was prosecuted by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor John R. Ascione.

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