Man Sentenced In Fatal DWI Crash Of Warren's First Pharmacy Founder

WARREN, NJ — A Lavallette man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the drug-impaired 2019 crash that killed a well-known, beloved pharmacist from Warren, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

Brian J. Kosanke, 41, was sentenced on Feb. 4 in the Oct. 19, 2019 death of Thomas Castronovo, 83, of Warren by Ocean County Superior Court Judge Michael T. Collins, First Assistant Prosecutor Michael Nolan said.

Collins ordered Kosanke to serve eight years on a charge of vehicular homicide, plus 18 months in prison on a charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution, with the sentences to run concurrently. The vehicular homicide sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, which means Kosanke must serve 85 percent, or at least 6 years, 9 months, before he is eligible for parole.

On the motor vehicle charge of driving while intoxicated, Collins sentenced him to 30 days in prison, a three-month loss of his driving privileges and installation of an ignition interlock device for a year in the vehicle he primarily drives after he finishes his prison sentence.

Kosanke had been in the Ocean County Jail from Nov. 7, 2019, until he pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2021, but after his guilty plea was released on home detention – over the objections of prosecutors, Nolan said.

Kosanke surrendered to authorities Feb. 11 to begin serving his sentence, Nolan said.

Castronovo, who was the founder of Warren's first pharmacy, was hit about 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19, 2019, on Route 35 north near Guyer Avenue, authorities said. First responders performed lifesaving measures and he was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.

Officers learned Kosanke was driving north on Route 35 and hit Castronovo as he was crossing at Guyer Avenue. Kosanke agreed to submit to a blood sample, which showed he was under the influence of Xanax, cocaine, morphine, fentanyl and gabapentin when he hit Castronovo, authorities said.

Nolan said the case was prosecuted by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Sheehan and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron, and said the Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Lavallette Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.

Fondly referred to as "Tom," "TC,"or "Mr. C" Castronovo and his family's legacy has left a heavy imprint throughout the Warren community. Castronovo's father, Frank, was also a pharmacist who opened his first drug store in 1926 on Houston Street in New York City before the family moved from Brooklyn to Watchung.

Following in his father's footsteps, Castronovo went to and graduated from Fordham University's College of Pharmacy in 1958. In 1961 Castronovo married his wife, Mary Ann and in 1962 he founded and opened Warren's first pharmacy called Edgewood Pharmacy. In 1966, Tom and Mary Ann moved to Warren.

Edgewood Pharmacy provided everything from TV tubes to ice cream and also served as the local post office.

In 1987 Castronovo's son, Steven, became the third generation of pharmacists and continues to run the pharmacy.

— With reporting by Karen Wall