Man Indicted In DWI Accident That Killed Couple: BCPO

A Burlington County man has been indicted after authorities say he was drunk driving when he caused a crash that killed a married couple in the jug handle at Route 130 north and Bridgeboro Road in Willingboro last year.

Amish Patel, 30, of Delanco, was indicted on two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide in the deaths of Robert Stephens, 52, and his wife Janet, 50, of Burlington Township, on Jan. 13, 2018, authorities said.

The Stephens’ minivan was stopped in the jughandle waiting to cross Route 130 onto Bridgeboro Road when Patel, who was traveling northbound on Route 130, lost control of his BMW 440, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.

He entered into the jughandle and crashed into the minivan, Coffina said. The minivan went over a guardrail and into an embankment, where it became submerged in a body of water that is part of Olympia Lakes, Coffina said.

The couple was pulled from the water, but efforts to revive them were unsuccessful, Coffina said. Blood was drawn from Patel after the accident, and toxicology results performed on that blood resulted in homicide charges being filed against Patel, Coffina said.

Patel was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in March 2018, Coffina said. Patel, who was treated and released following the collision, also faces several traffic summonses in municipal court, including tickets for driving while intoxicated and speeding.