A part-time EMT from North Brunswick who had faced up to 20 years in prison for killing a Union City man while drunk driving on Broadway in 2014 was sentenced to 5 years in prison today as part of a plea deal.
JERSEY CITY -- A part-time EMT from North Brunswick who had faced up to 20 years in prison for killing a Union City man while driving drunk on Broadway in 2014 was sentenced to 5 years in prison today as part of a plea deal.
"I feel so unbelievably terrible about everything," said Jeremy Steinman, 24, who was a part-time paramedic at McCabe Ambulance in Bayonne at the time of the March 23, 2014 crash that took the life of Heriberto Lithgow, 21.
"I can't apologize enough," he continued. "I never expect forgiveness from the family. I hope that I can help society, let people know what happened. How to deter that... I just hope they can find closure some day."
Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Nidara Rourk said the crime was even more egregious because committed by an EMT.
"This defendant is an EMT who presumably has seen injuries, seen tragic accidents and has seen what can happen when a person drives drunk," Rourk said. "In essence it boggles the mind why this particular defendant, of all people, an EMT ... should know better."
At 10 p.m. that night, hours after the Bayonne St. Patrick's Day parade, Steinman was driving north on Broadway when he swerved into the southbound lane to pass a car, then swerved back into the northbound lane, police said at the time.
His vehicle then struck a Jeep Cherokee as Lithgow was getting into it. Lithgow, his sister, his mother and his mother's boyfriend were leaving Bayonne after having dinner at a local restaurant after celebrating his sister's birthday, police said.
Officers responding to Broadway and East 29th Street found Lithgow on the ground unconscious with severe injuries to his legs and head. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health, where he was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. on March 24, police said.
Lithgow's mother, Soraya Veras, could not stop crying as she addressed the court today. She said her family has never been the same and holidays and other family occasions are nothing more than reminders of their great loss.
"Your Honor, I come here to claim justice," Veras said through tears. "Please recognize what we are going through, Your Honor."
"We were celebrating a birthday and will never be able to do that again," the mother said through a Spanish translator. "He was a good guy. He was going to college. ... The whole family, we came to the United States and became citizens and we were going to do everything the right way and this man killed my son. I cannot carry on."
Steinman was charged with first-degree death by auto, a charge that carries a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. In the end, he pleaded guilty to death by auto in the second-degree and received the minimum of the possible five- to 10-year sentence.
Steinman also pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. On the night of the incident, his blood alcohol level was almost twice the legal limit.
"It's a very terrible day," Steinman's lawyer, Daniel Welsh, said. The lawyer pointed out the impact of that night on the of his client and his client's family. He also said "a young man, from all accounts a really nice kid that was a family man and had goals and aspirations, is no longer with us."