Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 36-year-old JOSE M. SUMBA ASTUDILLO of Newark, NJ on charges related to a fatal motor vehicle crash. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department under the direction of Chief Joseph Rinke.
On Sunday, December 1, 2024, at approximately 2:28 a.m., the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, Lodi Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office responded to a serious single-car, motor-vehicle accident on Route 46 West in Hasbrouck Heights. Upon arrival, officers determined that a 2019 Hyundai collided with the highway divider injuring all three occupants of the vehicle. One occupant of the vehicle, 57-year-old Angel S. Uzhca Yadaicela of Elmwood Park, NJ, was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center where he was ultimately pronounced deceased. Another occupant of the vehicle was also transported to Hackensack University Medical Center with serious injuries and remains hospitalized in critical condition. JOSE M. SUMBA ASTUDILLO, the third occupant of the vehicle, initially told responding officers that he was a passenger, and the driver of the vehicle ran off after the crash. SUMBA ASTUDILLO was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center for injuries sustained in the crash, however those injuries were later determined to be not serious in nature.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit was notified, responded to the scene, and a joint investigation was initiated. The investigation revealed that JOSE M. SUMBA ASTUDILLO made false statements to law enforcement, and that he, in fact, was the driver of the Hyundai at the time of the collision. As a result of the investigation, on Sunday, December 1, 2024, SUMBA ASTUDILLO was charged with second-degree providing a false report to law enforcement, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-4a; third-degree hindering apprehension, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(4); and fourth-degree obstructing the administration of law, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-1a. SUMBA ASTUDILLO was released from the hospital and transported to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, NJ.
On Monday, December 2, 2024, as the investigation of the circumstances surrounding the crash continued, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit determined that JOSE M. SUMBA ASTUDILLO was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. Accordingly, SUMBA ASTUDILLO was additionally charged with second-degree death by auto, N.J.S.A. 2C: 11-5a; second-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1); third-degree assault by auto, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1c(2); third-degree causing a death while operating a vehicle while unlicensed, N.J.S.A. 2C:40-22a; and fourth-degree causing serious bodily injury while operating a vehicle while unlicensed, N.J.S.A. 2C:40-22b. SUMBA ASTUDILLO remains in custody pending further action by the Court.
Prosecutor Musella would like to thank the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, Lodi Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation, along with the Tenafly and Norwood Police Departments, which both participate in the Bergen County Fatal Accident Task Force.