TOMS RIVER — A Toms River woman has been convicted in a 2022 crash that killed two men in Manchester Township.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said a jury on October 2 found Danielle Bowker, 30, guilty of two counts of third-degree vehicular homicide in the deaths of Michael Sadis, 48, and Paul Lamberti, 58, both of Toms River.
The verdict followed a nearly five-week trial before Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari.
Bowker is scheduled to be sentenced December 12 and faces up to five years in state prison on each count.
Authorities said the crash happened March 29, 2022, when Bowker’s Honda Civic crossed the center line on Route 571 near Whitesville Road and collided with a New Jersey Department of Transportation pickup truck. The impact sent the truck into two other cars, including a Toyota Camry driven by Sadis, which was pushed into an embankment, and a Toyota Corolla driven by Lamberti.
Sadis died at the scene. Lamberti was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he later died from his injuries. The two men in the DOT truck sustained minor injuries, as did Bowker.
Bowker was initially charged in June 2022 with vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide and assault by auto, and was later indicted.
“Reckless driving is not a mistake – it is a dangerous choice that costs lives,” Billhimer said in a statement. “While nothing can bring their loved ones back, we hope today’s verdict provides some measure of justice and closure for the families of Michael Sadis and Paul Lamberti.”
The prosecutor credited Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke for trying the case, and thanked investigators from multiple agencies for their work on the case.
