Judge sentences man to prison for fatal drunken-driving crash: HCPO

 

William Frazier HCPO-2020 image

A Newark man involved in a fatal Kearny collision last year has been sentenced to time in prison, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, Judge John A. Young Jr. sentenced William Frazier, 54, to five years in New Jersey State Prison for the death by auto-driving while intoxicated death of Vance Caswell, which occurred on March 13, 2020, on Harrison Avenue in Kearny.

The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, which will require Frazier to serve 85% of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole — and includes a consecutive 10-year driver’s license suspension.

Frazier was also sentenced to a consecutive year in state prison for assault by auto-driving while intoxicated for causing bodily injury to a second victim, and a two-year driver’s license suspension and $500 fine for motor vehicle summonses for driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

Frazier pleaded guilty to the offenses Sept. 30, 2021.

The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit, with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, investigated the case. The state was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit.

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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.