Crime & Safety

Driver Involved in Crash that Killed Kinnelon Man Pleads Not Guilty

Lawyer said Joseph Meyer and his family are 'distraught' over incident.

The lawyer representing one of two individuals allegedly involved in a crash that killed motorcyclist and Kinnelon man Stephen Lenge, 56, said his client, Joseph Meyer, has plead not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide, also known as death by auto.

Blair Zwillman, of the firm Wilentz, Goldman, and Spitzer, in Woodbridge, said Thursday his client is "distraught" over the situation and the death of Lenge.

"My client, Joseph Meyer, is 19 years old. He and his family are very distraught about it," he said.

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Zwillman also said his client will "deny involvement in any criminal act."

According to NorthJersey.com, Meyer, of Oviedo, Fla., and Joseph Ferreti, 28, of Dumont, both appeared in East Rutherford municipal court Wednesday, both on charges of vehicular homicide. NorthJersey.com reported earlier in the week that Ferreti and Meyer were driving Ferraris on Berry's Creek Road in East Rutherford Sunday when one of the drivers allegedly lost control of their vehicle and collided with Lenge's vehicle. It was also reported that a preliminary investigation revealed that the cars could have been traveling at a high rate of speed.

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Read the full story from NorthJersey.com here.

New Jersey State Police did not respond to calls for comment. Ferreti's attorney, Brian J. Neary, also did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

Zwillman said the vehicular homicide charge is the only charge currently brought against his client.

"It's a second-degree offense carrying up to five-to-ten years in prison," he said.


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