Ex-cop who drove drunk and killed pedestrian gets lighter sentence during emotional hearing

A Middlesex County judge reduced the jail sentence for a former Long Branch police detective who was intoxicated when he hit and killed a 66-year-old woman with his Jeep as she crossed the street.

Jake Pascucci, 30, pleaded guilty in 2018 to strict liability vehicular homicide and DWI for his role in the death of Karen Borkowski, of Stanhope, who he struck as she crossed Ocean Boulevard at the intersection of Broadway in Long Branch on Sept. 22, 2017. He was sentenced last year to 364 days in jail, but his lawyer appealed the decision.

In handing down a new sentence of 240 days in county jail, Superior Court Judge Michael Toto said Wednesday that he considered a statement from a witness at the scene who said Borkowski sprinted across the street when the light was green for Pascucci. An accident reconstruction report also said Borkowski’s actions were the main cause of the accident, Toto said.

“It’s a factor in this case that the actions of the victim contributed to causing of the accident... That doesn’t excuse Mr. Pascucci from getting in that car and driving," Toto said.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/middlesex/2020/09/ex-cop-who-drove-drunk-and-killed-pedestrian-gets-lighter-sentence-during-emotional-hearing.html