UPDATE: Prosecutor Seeks Waiver to Try Millburn Teen Driver as an Adult

The case will be tried in Family Court, according to Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney's office. The state is seeking a waiver to have the 17-year-old tried as an adult. If tried as a juvenile, the maximum he would serve is four years in a youth detention facility.

The teen, whose name has not been released because he is a juvenile, was driving a Jeep Cherokee that crashed into a Nissan Versa driven by 39-year-old Ari Vuotila. The accident occurred at the intersection of Long Hill Road and Parsonage Road in Millburn.

The 17-year-old turned himself in to the Millburn Police Department on Wednesday, accompanied by his attorney, Michael D'Alessio, who didn't return messages seeking comment for this story.

News of the charges was welcome to Vuotila's family and friends, who have waited since January to see what would come of the investigation. His close friend Hannah Roberts said they had been in contact with the prosecutor assigned to the case, calling every couple of weeks for updates, but had tried to back off to give him space.

According to Vuotila's mother, Viola, the prosecutor visited her South Orange home on Tuesday night to inform her of the impending arrest, but she was in the basement and didn't answer the door in time. He left his card and visited again the following day, and she slept well on Wednesday night for the first time in recent memory. "I feel that Ari is getting justice," she said.

She intends to appear in court when the dates are set and believes that the decision to seek a waiver to try the teenager as an adult is just. "If you're older and you have a driver's license, then you are responsible," she said.