Burlington cop sentenced 4 years for fatal DUI crash

MOUNT HOLLY » A rookie Burlington Township cop will end up behind bars for killing his passenger while he was drunk driving.

Justin Rodriguez, 25, of Clydesdale Drive in Burlington Township, was sentenced Friday to four years in state prison for the fatal DUI crash that occurred on West Front Street in Florence on Sept. 23, 2016, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a press release. Rodriguez, who had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, struck a utility pole and killed passenger Ariana Williams, 27, of Florence.

“This was a criminal act, and like all criminal acts, this was senseless,” Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office assistant Prosecutor Thaddeus E. Drummond told the court. “There was no reason for those who loved Ariana – her friends and her family – to lose a daughter, a sister, a friend.”

Prosecutors said Rodriguez had “consumed several alcoholic drinks in the hours before the collision.”

As a result of the crash, Rodriguez was ejected from the vehicle and was admitted to the hospital for three days while Ariana died at the scene.

Rodriguez started working on the Burlington Township police force in January 2016. Authorities said the rookie cop was off-duty at the time of the crash and was driving his personal vehicle, an Acura Integra.

“There is no sentence that could bring perfect justice to parents who lost a daughter, or a sister who lost her twin,” Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a statement. “What’s worse, Ariana’s death was entirely preventable. This defendant was a police officer. He more than anyone should have known the dangers and drinking and driving. Our hearts and prayers are with the Williams family, and with Ariana’s many friends, and we hope that today’s sentence can bring some measure of healing to them.”

Rodriguez was sentenced on one count of vehicular homicide.

Ariana’s family members spoke what the loss means to them.

“This last Father’s Day was the worst day of my life, because she was not there,” Ariana’s father, Ronald, told the court.

Rodriguez earned $26,721 before he was booted from the force.

The collision was investigated by the Florence Township Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. The lead investigators were Florence Township Detective Sergeant Al Jacoby and Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit Detective Brian Miller, authorities said.

“There is no sentence that could bring perfect justice to parents who lost a daughter, or a sister who lost her twin.” — Prosecutor Scott Coffina