Sunday, October 16, 2011

N.J. Police Officer Killed In Crash


Prosecutors say a veteran police officer was killed when a man allegedly driving under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance crashed into his police cruiser on a northern New Jersey highway.

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Cassella of Howell faces numerous charges -- including aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide -- in the crash on Route 80 in Roxbury that killed 38-year-old Mount Arlington officer Joseph Wargo.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi says it appears Cassella was westbound and speeding when he lost control of his vehicle around 12:10 a.m. Sunday. It then slid across the median and hit Wargo's cruiser.

Wargo was flown by helicopter to Morristown Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:25 a.m.

Cassella was being held Sunday at the Morris County Jail on $500,000 cash bail. Officials did not know if he's retained an attorney.

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