ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Morris County) — A former Parsippany-Troy Hills man has been sentenced to 16 years in state prison for causing a fatal wrong-way crash on Interstate 80 in Rockaway Township last year, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Victor Peters, 46, was sentenced Sept. 11 by Superior Court Judge Ralph E. Amirata after a jury found him guilty of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree vehicular homicide.
The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Peters to serve 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The charges stemmed from a crash at about 2:33 a.m. Feb. 2, 2025, on I-80 west in Rockaway Township.
Investigators determined that a Mercedes SUV driven by Peters was traveling east in the westbound lanes when it collided with a 2024 Ford pickup truck traveling west, prosecutors said.
The driver of the pickup, Destinn McKnight, 31, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the only person in the pickup.
Peters, who was the sole occupant of the Mercedes, sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening and was taken to Morristown Medical Center for treatment.
According to prosecutors, Peters exhibited signs of being under the influence at the scene and was subsequently charged.
A jury returned guilty verdicts July 22 following a five-day trial.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll and Acting Chief of Detectives Mark Castellano announced the sentencing. Carroll credited the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and New Jersey State Police with the investigation.
Assistant prosecutors Alyssa DiSturco and Alexander Bennett prosecuted the case.
