Sparta man pleads guilty in fatal crash
SPARTA. Nurse and mother of two was killed in head-on collision Jan. 30, 2022.
| 13 Jan 2023 | 02:29
Erin Moore of Sparta was killed in a head-on crash Jan. 30, 2022. She was 41.
Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart announced these guilty pleas made before Judge Michael Gaus at the Sussex County Courthouse in Newton:
• On Jan. 11, Attila Princz, 42, of Sparta pleaded guilty to second-degree death by auto and driving while intoxicated.
He admitted driving under the influence of alcohol, which led to a head-on crash that resulted in the death of Erin Moore, 41, of Sparta.
She had been driving a blue Hyundai Tuscon south on Route 181 about 5 p.m. Jan. 30, 2022, when a gray 540i BMW that Princz was driving north crossed into the southbound lane and struck her vehicle head-on.
Both had serious injuries. The Sparta Fire Department extracted Moore from her car with the jaws of life. She was taken to Newton Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Princz was flown to Morristown Medical Center.
Sentencing of him on the death by auto charge is scheduled March 24.
On Jan. 11, Princz was sentenced on the DWI charge to four months loss of license, nine months of using an interlock device after the suspension, 12 hours of drug and alcohol education at an Intoxicated Driver Research Center, and $690 in fines and fees.
Moore, who worked as a paramedic and later as an emergency room, then maternity nurse, was survived by her husband, Eddie, and two daughters.
Eddie Moore has sued Princz and Chalapa Grill, a Lake Hopatcong restaurant where Princz reportedly was drinking alcohol before the crash.
The suit alleges that he was driving 69 mph in a 30-mph zone when his car struck Erin Moore’s car and that his blood alcohol content was about .26 percent, above the legal limit of .08 percent.
The lawsuit is pending in state Superior Court.
• On Jan. 10, Joseph DeRissio, 25, of Phillipsburg pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree burglary.
Het admitted entering motor vehicles for the purpose of stealing valuables.
Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 15.
The case was investigated by Patrolman Eric Stickle of the Hardyston Township Police Department.
• On Jan. 3, Michael Kaps, 22, of Ogdensburg pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, fourth-degree theft by unlawful taking and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 1.
In pleading guilty, he admitted entering, removing property from and/or causing damage to various structures in Hardyston.
The case was investigated by Detective Michael Petershack of the Hardyston Township Police Department.
• On Jan. 3, Timothy Durgin, 28, of Stanhope pleaded guilty to fourth-degree false public alarm.
Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 24.
In pleading guilty, he admitted to knowingly making a false call to 911 to report his car being stolen after it was involved in a motor vehicle crash.
The case was investigated by Trooper Pimental of the New Jersey State Police.
• On Jan. 4, Thomas Broderick, 33, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal trespass.
Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 24.
In pleading guilty, he admitted to unlawfully entering a dwelling and causing damage on July 25, 2018, in Montague.
The case was investigated by Trooper McCarthy of the New Jersey State Police.