CHATHAM, NJ – A driver has been charged with vehicular homicide in relation to a crash that occurred in Chatham Township in March.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office released the following statement:
Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Chief of Detectives Christoph K. Kimker, Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, and Chatham Township Police Chief Thomas Miller announce that Yulia Raynova, age 45, of Madison Borough, New Jersey, has been charged with second degree Vehicular Homicide in connection with a fatal motor vehicle crash that occurred in Chatham Township.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. on March 28, 2022, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office was called to the scene of a motor vehicle collision involving three vehicles on Shunpike Road at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue in Chatham Township. The investigation revealed that a Nissan Rogue had been traveling west on the roadway into the intersection, and struck a Jeep Wrangler traveling south. The Wrangler impacted a box truck parked on the opposite side of the intersection.
The driver of the Wrangler – Michael Pacchia Jr., 52, Chatham Township – was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the Rogue was identified as Raynova. As a result of the investigation, on April 7, 2022, she was charged with one count of second-degree Vehicular Homicide. She has also been charged with a number of motor vehicle offenses.
Members of the Chatham Township Police Department, Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit all took part in this investigation.
If anyone has any information related to this investigation, they are encouraged to call the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200, or the Chatham Township Police Department at 973-377-0100.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, this Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
