FREEHOLD, N.J. — A former Hillside police officer received a prison sentence Friday for a drunken-driving crash that killed a married couple after his pickup truck flew off the Garden State Parkway and slammed into their car in Tinton Falls, according to Monmouth County court records.
John P. McClave III, 34, of Toms River, was sentenced May 8 on vehicular homicide charges tied to the 2021 crash that killed Angel L. Acevedo Jr., 40, and Daniela Correia Salles, 35, both of Baltimore. The details of his sentencing have not been released yet, but he was placed in Ocean County Jail on Friday and is currently listed as “sentenced” in jail records.
He was found guilty in March.
Court records show McClave was sentenced with no bail following his conviction on vehicular homicide charges under New Jersey statute 2C:11-5A.
The fatal collision happened shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2021, near the Garden State Parkway overpass at Asbury Avenue in Tinton Falls.
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, McClave was driving a 2018 GMC Canyon pickup truck to work when he veered off the roadway and struck a 2020 Toyota Corolla occupied by the married couple.
Investigators said truck became airborne before impact
Crash investigators determined McClave’s vehicle drifted out of the Parkway lanes without significantly slowing down or changing direction before hitting an embankment and becoming airborne.
The truck then crashed into the victims’ vehicle with enough force to cause fatal injuries, prosecutors said.
Acevedo and Salles suffered multiple severe injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
McClave survived the crash and was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities said an investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Serious Crash Analysis Response Team, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Unit, and the Tinton Falls Police Department found McClave had been driving recklessly while under the influence of intoxicating substances.
He was later charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide.
Key Points
• Former Hillside police officer John McClave sentenced in fatal 2021 Tinton Falls crash
• Prosecutors said McClave drove under the influence before striking another vehicle
• Baltimore couple Angel Acevedo Jr. and Daniela Correia Salles died at the scene
Prosecutors previously detailed additional traffic violations
In addition to the homicide charges, investigators issued McClave summonses for reckless driving, failure to maintain lanes, failure to wear a seatbelt, and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
The case drew attention because McClave was an active Union County police officer at the time of the crash. Authorities said he was employed by the Hillside Police Department when the collision occurred.
Prosecutors have not publicly released additional details about the exact intoxicating substances involved.
The deaths of Acevedo and Salles devastated family members in Maryland and added to growing scrutiny surrounding impaired driving crashes involving law enforcement officers in New Jersey.
Case closes nearly five years after deadly crash
Friday’s sentencing marks the latest development in a case that stretched more than four years from the date of the crash to final court proceedings.
Monmouth County court records indicate McClave received a prison sentence and will remain detained without bail.
Officials have not yet released additional details regarding the exact length of the sentence imposed Friday in Freehold.
The vehicular homicide case is now considered resolved through sentencing in Monmouth County Superior Court.
