FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Caitlin Mota
PHONE: (201) 577-6699
WEB: HCPO.org
DATE: Monday, December 5, 2022
MAN CHARGED IN 2021 COLLISION THAT CRITICALLY INJURED TWO ON ROUTE 7 IN KEARNY
Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:
On Friday, December 2, 2022, members of the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with a crash that seriously injured two passengers in Kearny on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
Daniel Leal Jr., of Meriden, Connecticut, is charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1), crimes of the second degree, two counts of Assault by Auto While Driving Under the Influence (Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1c(1), crimes of the third degree, Assault by Auto While Driving Under the Influence (Resulting in Bodily Injury) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1c(1), a crime of the fourth degree, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1), a crime of the second degree. He was arrested at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Secaucus and transported to the Hudson County Correction Facility pending his first court appearance.
At approximately 4:08 a.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, members of the Kearny Police Department responded to the area of Route 7 and the Harrison Avenue split on reports of a vehicle that crashed into a parked tractor trailer. All four occupants of the car were transported to University Hospital in Newark. Two passengers, a 19-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man, both of Passaic, were both critically injured. Leal, who was a resident of Garfield at the time of
the collision, and a second 20-year-old Passaic man suffered injuries that were not considered life threatening.
The investigation found Leal was under the influence when he was traveling west on Route 7 in a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer and collided with a tractor trailer that was parked on the side of the road. Following a court authorized search of the vehicle, a revolver was found in the trunk of the vehicle.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit and the Kearny Police Department with the investigation and arrest. The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).