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Police arrest driver in crash that killed off-duty officer in New Jersey

Published  January 16, 2019 11:54am EST
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

HILLSIDE, N.J. (AP) - Police have arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a crash that killed an off-duty police officer in New Jersey.

Prosecutors say the man was driving with a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit with Giovanni Esposito as a passenger when he collided with a tractor-trailer that was stopped at a red light in Linden Oct. 15.

Both men were transported to University Hospital in Newark, where Esposito was later pronounced dead.

Esposito had begun working for the Hillside Police Department in November 2017. Police say he graduated at the top of his class.

The Union County Prosecutor's Office says the driver has been charged with vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated and speeding among other offenses.

He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.