By: Najla Alexander
Image by: NJ Bulletin
Authorities in Bergen County announced the sentencing term handed down in Bergen County Superior Court against 41-year-old Julio C. Guerrero-Brito, of Hasbrouck Heights, in connection with a 2024 fatal motor vehicle accident.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella stated that the crash resulted in the death of 37-year-old Richard M. Bahamonte of Hillside.
According to Bergen County officials, on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at approximately 3:08 a.m., the New Jersey State Police responded to a single-car accident that occurred on Interstate 80 Eastbound in Teaneck. First responders arrived on scene and discovered the vehicle, a 2022 Honda Accord, heavily damaged and perpendicular across two lanes of traffic.
The driver of the vehicle, who was found asleep in the driver’s seat, was identified as Julio C. Guerrero-Brito. The passenger, later identified as Richard M. Bahamonte, was unconscious and had no pulse, BCPO officials say.
New Jersey State Troopers began CPR and attempted life-saving measures; however, Mr. Bahamonte was ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene by responding paramedics, BCPO officials said.
As the investigation into the crash proceeded, investigators determined that the Honda Accord was traveling at a high rate of speed, lost control, struck a concrete barrier on the right shoulder of the highway, and came to rest perpendicular in the lanes of travel, Bergen County officials said. Its driver, Julio C. Guerrero-Brito, had a blood alcohol level of .156%, which was nearly double the legal limit.
BCPO officials say that on Monday, December 1, 2025, after charges were filed in this matter, Julio C. Guerrero-Brito pled guilty before the Honorable James M. Doyle, J.S.C. in Bergen County Superior Court to one count of second-degree vehicular homicide for recklessly operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
Bergen County officials stated that on Friday, February 27, during a subsequent proceeding in Bergen County Superior Court before the Honorable James M. Doyle, J.S.C., Julio C. Guerrero-Brito was sentenced to six years in New Jersey State Prison.
The sentence is subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (“NERA”), which requires the defendant to serve at least 85% of the term before becoming eligible for parole.