Toms River, NJ – The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced that 30-year-old Danielle Bowker of Toms River was sentenced to five years of probation for her role in a fatal crash that claimed two lives in Manchester Township in March 2022.
Bowker was sentenced on January 23, 2026, by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari, who also suspended her driver’s license for two years. The State had sought consecutive three-year prison terms for each of the two victims. Bowker was convicted on October 2, 2025, of two counts of third-degree vehicular homicide following a nearly five-week trial.
The crash occurred around 7:15 a.m. on March 29, 2022, along Route 571 near Whitesville Road. Investigators determined that Bowker’s 2018 Honda Civic veered out of its lane while navigating a curve, colliding with a New Jersey Department of Transportation pickup truck traveling eastbound. The impact caused a chain-reaction collision involving five vehicles, including a Toyota Camry driven by 48-year-old Michael Sadis and a Toyota Corolla driven by 58-year-old Paul Lamberti, both of Toms River.
- Driver sentenced to probation in double-fatal Manchester Township crash
- Two Toms River men killed after five-vehicle collision on Route 571
- Prosecutor’s Office had sought consecutive prison terms
Sadis was pronounced dead at the scene, while Lamberti was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center and later died from his injuries. Two other motorists suffered minor injuries.
Bowker was initially charged in June 2022 with vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, and assault by auto. She surrendered to police and was later released under New Jersey Bail Reform before being indicted the following year.
Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the case was investigated by the Ocean County Major Crime Unit–Vehicular Homicide Squad, the Manchester Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.