Jersey City Driver Sentenced to Ten Years for Fatal Crash
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, led by Prosecutor Esther Suarez, announced the sentencing of a Jersey City driver involved in a fatal crash. On Friday, September 8, 2023, Judge John A. Young Jr. sentenced Jose Colon, 33, of Jersey City, to ten years in New Jersey State Prison for causing the death of 30-year-old Jesus Gonzalez.
Colon had previously pleaded guilty to first-degree death by auto for driving while intoxicated within 1,000 feet of school property, violating N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5b(3)(a), on April 19, 2023. The sentence includes a consecutive ten-year driver’s license suspension under the No Early Release Act.
The incident occurred on February 28, 2021, around 3:30 a.m. Colon was driving a 1996 Honda Civic at a high speed on Christopher Columbus Drive near Merseles Street in Jersey City when he crashed into an attenuator-protected guardrail. His passenger, Jesus Gonzalez, a Jersey City resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. Notably, the crash took place within 1,000 feet of James J. Ferris High School.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit, in collaboration with the Jersey City Police Department, conducted the investigation. Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit represented the state.
Source: Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office
