A police officer from New Jersey, en route to his job, lost control of his pickup truck, causing it to hit an embankment, soar into the air, and tragically collide with another vehicle, resulting in the deaths of a couple inside.

John McClave III, aged 38, was convicted by a jury on two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, as officially reported by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. For more details, you can visit their announcement.

The trial, which spanned a week, took place in the Ocean County Superior Court. The proceedings were held there to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

At the time of the incident on October 9, 2021, McClave served with the Hillside Police Department. Around 7 p.m., while he was on his way to work, 40-year-old Angel Acevedo, Jr. and his 35-year-old wife, Daniela Salles, were also traveling on the road, just five miles from Newark.

McClave was behind the wheel of a 2018 GMC Canyon pickup on the Garden State Parkway, simultaneously with Acevedo, who was driving a 2020 Toyota Corolla on the road below. According to the prosecutor’s office, McClave was operating his vehicle “recklessly while under the influence of intoxicating substances.”

In a sudden and devastating turn, McClave’s vehicle veered off the elevated roadway and crashed onto the car below, as detailed in a disciplinary report concerning the officer.

An investigation determined his pickup truck “did not change direction or slow down significantly after it left the Garden State Parkway lanes, resulting in his vehicle becoming airborne upon hitting an embankment, eventually striking the car occupied by the victims.”

Just before 7:30 p.m., members of the Tinton Falls Police Department and Wayside Fire Company responded to a report of a crash on Asbury Avenue near the Garden State Parkway overpass. Officers discovered that Acevedo and Salles had both “sustained multiple severe injuries,” and they were pronounced dead at the scene.

McClave was brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center to be treated for “serious but not life-threatening injuries.”

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the fatal accident, charged him with two counts of vehicular homicide, and then the Tinton Falls Police Department “immediately suspended” McClave without pay. While suspended and awaiting trial, McClave “submitted a letter of resignation from his position of police officer with the Hillside Police Department effective August 8, 2023,” the discipline report states.

McClave faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in state prison, “with 85 percent of the sentence to be served before the possibility of parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA),” the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office stated. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8.

“[T]he simplest pleasures in life brought Angel and Daniela great joy,” an obituary for Acevedo and Salles reads. “They would often explore local hiking trails finding beauty in nature. They made time to have gatherings in their home and to visit family and friends no matter how near or far. Anyone who knew Angel and Daniela were touched by their kindness, humor, and positivity.”