Warren County man charged with vehicular homicide in I-280 crash that killed man on New Year’s Eve
ROSELAND BOROUGH, NJ (Essex County) – A Hackettstown man was charged after he struck and killed a Randolph Township man on the shoulder of Interstate 280 on New Year’s Eve in Essex County, according to New Jersey State Police spokesperson Detective Jeffrey Lebron.
The crash happened on Dec. 31, at around 4:14 p.m., on Interstate 280 westbound at milepost 4.4 in Roseland Borough, Lebron said.
A preliminary police investigation revealed that a Chevy passenger vehicle was parked on the right shoulder and Luis Nicheporuck, 56, of Randolph Township was outside of the vehicle on the right shoulder. A Ford pickup, driven by Valerian Kapanadze, 48, of Hackettstown, was traveling westbound when the vehicle entered the right shoulder, striking the Chevy and Nicheporuck, Lebron said.
As a result of the crash, Nicheporuck suffered fatal injuries. There were no other reported injuries, Lebron said.
Kapanadze was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, child endangerment, evidence tampering and multiple motor vehicle traffic violations. He was then lodged in Essex County Jail pending a detention hearing, Lebron said.
The accident remains under investigation and no additional information was available, Lebron said.
