Woman Sentenced In Route 571 Crash That Killed 2 Toms River Men

TOMS RIVER, NJ — An Ocean County woman convicted of killing two men in a 2022 crash on Route 571 in Manchester has been sentenced to probation, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.

Danielle M. Bowker, 34, was sentenced to five years of probation and her driving privileges were suspended for two years by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari on Friday, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Bowker, who lives in the Pine Lake Park section of Manchester, was convicted Oct. 2 on two counts of third-degree vehicular manslaughter after a five-week trial before Vicari, in the March 2022 crash that killed Michael Sadis, 48, and Paul Lamberti, 58, both of Toms River.

Prosecutors had argued for a three-year prison sentence for each count of vehicular manslaughter, and wanted the sentences to be served consecutively, the prosecutor's office said.

The crash happened about 7:15 a.m. March 29, 2022, on Route 571 near Whitesville Road.

The prosecutor's office said its investigation found that Bowker, who was driving west on Route 571 in a 2018 Honda Civic, swerved out of her lane on the curve near Whitesville Road. Her car hit a Ford F-550 pickup truck owned by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that was being driven by Eduardo Rivera, 30, of Hamilton Township. Rivera and his passenger, and Daniel Septor, 26, of the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold Township, were treated at Community Medical Center for minor injuries, the prosecutor's office said.

The impact caused the Ford F-550 to hit a 2012 Toyota Camry and push it off the road into an embankment. Sadis, who was driving the Camry, died at the scene, authorities said.

The Ford F-550 then hit a 2015 Toyota Corolla driven by Lamberti. He was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he died a few days after the crash, the prosecutor's office said. Read more: 1 Killed, 1 'Critical' After 4-Vehicle Route 571 Crash In Manchester

In June 2022, the prosecutor's office announced lab tests found Bowker had an active THC (marijuana) level of 7 nanograms (ng) with a metabolite THC level of 61ng, showing that Bowker was a “recent, active user of marijuana” at the time of the crash.

The state's psychopharmacologist said the level was enough to leave Bowker impaired due to the effects of marijuana intoxication, and unable to drive safely, the prosecutor's office said. Read more: Toms River Woman Was High On Weed In Crash That Killed 2: Prosecutor

Bowker sustained minor injuries from the crash and was also taken to Community Medical Center for treatment and subsequently released.

She was charged June 21, 2022, with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide and two counts of assault by auto and indicted on the charges Feb. 15, 2023. Bowker was acquitted of the marijuana charges at trial.

Bowker sustained minor injuries from the crash and was also taken to Community Medical Center for treatment and subsequently released.