A Monmouth County grand jury returned an indictment Monday against Bryan Brandt, 26, of 433 Bailey Avenue in Union Township, charging him with causing the death of his companion, Paola Torres, 22, in 2013 while operating her 2006 Nissan Altima by milepost 96, on the Garden State Parkway in Wall Township, announced Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Brandt is charged with one count of second degree vehicular homicide and one count of third degree hindering apprehension of oneself.
He was also issued motor vehicle summonses for driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain lane and reckless driving.
Brandt is free after posting $150,000 bail.
If convicted of the charge of the second degree vehicular homicide, Brandt faces five to 10 years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the "No Early Release Act" (NERA) requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. If convicted of the third degree hindering apprehension of oneself charge, he faces three to five years in state prison.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Major Crimes Bureau and New Jersey State Police revealed Brandt was travelling north from Atlantic City, where he had been drinking and gambling with Torres and a group of friends.
He left one of the Atlantic City casinos at about 5:45a.m., on Nov. 24, 2013, operating Torres’ vehicle while she occupied the front passenger seat. As he was driving through a construction zone on the Garden State Parkway at an excessive rate of speed Brandt lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a wooded area in the center divider between the northbound and southbound lanes.
As a result of the collision, Torres was ejected from the vehicle and was subsequently taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where she died from the injuries she sustained in the crash.
Brandt told police Torres was the operator of the Altima and that he was the front seat passenger. The investigation determined this was not the case and that Brandt was in fact the driver of the vehicle when it crashed.
The investigation also revealed that Brandt was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.