Driver Gets 5 Years In Fatal Head-On Crash Of Hillsborough Woman

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A man who was driving at almost 90 mph when he crossed the double yellow line and hit and killed Nancy Louie of Hillsborough in 2015 was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison.

Sahil Kulgod, 25 of Adams Court, Plainsboro was sentenced on Friday to the charge of second degree vehicular homicide. He will also have to serve 85 percent of that sentence, or four years and two months, before becoming eligible for release on parole, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said.

On Jan. 4, 2015 at around 10:30 a.m. Kulgod was driving a 2015 Ford Focus on the southbound side of Millstone River Road in Hillsborough. The speed limit on that roadway is 45 mph and 35 mph for the S-curve in the roadway, Robertson said.

Kulgod was reportedly driving at 86.4 mph when he tried to take the turn and crossed over the double yellow line hitting Louie, who was 50 years old at the time. Louie was driving a 1991 BMW with 20-year-old passenger Melissa Louie, Robertson said.

The BMW ended up against a tree. The driver of the BMW, Louie, who was wearing her seatbelt at the time was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger sustained minor injuries, Robertson said.

Kulgod, who was alone in his car, was uninjured in the crash.

Robertson said there was no evidence that alcohol or drug use, or distracted driving, was a factor in the collision.

The State’s accident reconstruction expert, Lt. William Pauli (Ret.), noted that the S-curve on the roadway was well-marked with curve warning signs, chevrons, and speed advisory signs, all of which Kulgod disregarded, Robertson said.

Kulgod was also separately convicted of reckless driving and failure to maintain his lane of travel.

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