Guilty plea will send truck driver to prison
Marlboro woman died in March 2005 crash in Manalapan

A North Carolina man is facing a 10-year prison term for causing the death of a Marlboro woman in a March 2005 accident that occurred on Route 9, Manalapan.

According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, on Feb. 13, Michael Stephens, 53, of Chadbourn, N.C., pleaded guilty before state Superior Court Judge Bette E. Uhrmacher, sitting in Freehold, to one count of second degree vehicular homicide and two counts of third degree assault by auto while intoxicated in connection with the collision that claimed the life of Barbara Lieber, 52, and injured her husband, Harvey, and teenage daughter, Alyssa, of Marlboro.

Lieber was a teacher at the Marlboro Jewish Center nursery school.

Stephens also pleaded guilty to a motor vehicle summons charging him with driving while intoxicated.

The plea agreement calls for Stephens to receive a 10-year state prison sentence subject to the No Early Release Act. If Uhrmacher imposes the 10-year sentence on May 11, Stephens will be required to serve approximately eight years, six months and one day in state prison before becoming eligible for parole.

According to the prosecutor's office, the plea agreement was approved by Lieber's family as well as by the surviving victims.

The motor vehicle collision occurred in Manalapan on March 21, 2005 at about 1:44 a.m.

An investigation conducted by the Manalapan Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) revealed that Stephens was operating a tractor-trailer northbound on Route 9 when he failed to stop for a red light at the intersection of Route 9 and Ryan and Symmes roads.

As a result, Stephens' tractor-trailer struck the Liebers' Chrysler Concord broadside. The Chrysler had entered the intersection under a green light for Ryan Road. The impact caused the Liebers' vehicle to strike a GMC van operated by Anthony Badillo, of Staten Island, N.Y. Badillo was not injured in the crash.

The investigation revealed that Stephens had a blood alcohol level of 0.133 percent at the time of the collision. The legal blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent.

Stephens was arrested at the scene, charged and issued the motor vehicle summonses which eventually led to his indictment. Last week's guilty plea comes almost two years after the accident.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis

A. Valentin credited the Manalapan Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Monmouth County SCART with their comprehensive investigation of the incident.

Valentin said, "This case presents yet another vivid reminder as to the devastation which can be caused by driving while intoxicated. This defendant's reckless operation of a 40-ton tractor-trailer while intoxicated shattered a family, causing one death and leaving two others with serious bodily injury. The tragedy of this case is that, like all drunk driving fatalities, it simply did not have to occur."

Stephens is currently being held in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, in lieu of $250,000.

At the time of the accident, Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad Capt. Robert DiTota told the News Transcript it was one of the worst accidents he had seen in 12 years. Harvey Lieber and Alyssa Lieber were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, in critical condition at the time of the accident. They remained hospitalized for a period of time before being released.