10-year sentence given to driver in fatal crash

On June 8, Michael Stephens, 53, of Chadbourn, N.C., was sentenced to a 10-year term in state prison in connection with a fatal motor vehicle crash that occurred on Route 9, Manalapan, in March 2005.

In imposing the sentence, state Superior Court Judge Bette E. Uhrmacher, sitting in Freehold, ordered that pursuant to the No Early Release Act, Stephens must serve at least 85 percent of that sentence before he can be considered for release on parole. Uhrmacher also suspended Stephens' driver's license for life, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The case involved a two-vehicle motor vehicle collision which occurred on March 21, 2005, at about 1:44 a.m. An investigation conducted by the prosecutor's office, the Manalapan Police Department and the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team revealed that Stephens was operating a tractor-trailer northbound on Route 9 in Manalapan 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 a Chrysler Concord broadside. The Chrysler, which contained three members of the Lieber family of Marlboro, had entered the intersection under a green light for Ryan Road.

The collision caused fatal injuries to Barbara Lieber, the 51-year-old front-seat passenger in the Chrysler, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Lieber was a teacher at the Marlboro Jewish Center nursery school at the time of her death.

Lieber's husband, Harvey, the 48-year-old driver of the Chrysler, and their 16-year-old daughter, Alyssa, the rear-seat passenger, both sustained life-threatening injuries. The investigation revealed that Stephens, who presented a commercial driver's license from North Carolina, had a blood alcohol level of 0.133 at the time of the collision.

Stephens pleaded guilty before Uhrmacher on Feb. 13 to one count of second-degree vehicular homicide and two counts of third-degree assault by auto, as well as the motor vehicle violation of driving while intoxicated. The surviving victims and decedent's family approved the plea, according to the press release.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin credited the Manalapan Police Department and the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team with conducting a thorough investigation of the incident.

"This tragic collision was completely avoidable. Stephens' decision to operate a 40-ton tractor-trailer while highly intoxicated and in complete disregard for the safety of everyone else on the road caused unspeakable and tragic loss and suffering for the Lieber family," Valentin said.

A telephone message left by the News Transcript at the Eatontown office of attorney Edward C. Bertucio, who represented Stephens, was not returned.