Manchester Man Pleads Guilty To Fatal Crash In Lacey: Prosecutor

LACEY, NJ — A Manchester Township man pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of prescription medications in a 2018 crash on Lacey Road that killed a Florida woman, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

William Orr, 70, of Whiting, is scheduled to be sentenced May 10 to three years in prison with three years of parole ineligibility, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The anticipated sentence is part of a plea agreement reached with Orr, and only after extensive discussions with the family of the victim, Elizabeth Patashinsky, Billhimer said.

Police responded to the area of Lacey Road in Lacey Township for a report of a motor vehicle crash on Sept. 28, 2018 around 3:30 p.m.

Orr, who was driving a 2018 Hyundai Elantra west on Lacey Road crossed over the center line and hit the 2017 Nissan Sentra that Patashinsky was driving, the prosecutor's office said. Patashinsky, 40, of Palm Bay, Florida, succumbed to injuries she suffered in the crash.

A passenger in Patashinsky's vehicle, William Muset, 66, of Whiting, was taken to Community Medical Center, treated for his injuries in the crash, and released.

Orr, who was treated at the scene for his injuries, showed no signs of impairment at the scene, and he was not able to perform any field sobriety tests due to a back injury that required him to use a cane for balance, the prosecutor's office said. Orr was then taken to Community Medical Center, where he voluntarily consented to a draw of his blood.

On Oct. 29, 2018, Orr's toxicology results showed four medications, which had been lawfully prescribed to him: alprazolam, gabapentin, oxycodone and zolpidem. Although no alcohol or illegal narcotics were detected in Orr's system, forensic toxicologists concluded the combined psychoactive effects of those medications made Orr unfit to safely operate a motor vehicle, Billhimer said. Orr was arrested that day and was held in jail briefly but released Nov. 2, 2018, under New Jersey's bail reform rules.

Orr pleaded guilty Thursday to vehicular homicide and driving under the influence before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan.

"But for the compassionate and forgiving nature of the victim's family — and their unequivocal desire to achieve closure after this two-and-one-half-year-long nightmare — this plea agreement would never have even been contemplated by this office, let alone approved," Billhimer said.

"It is only by the grace of Ms. Patashinsky's family that we agreed to a sentence that is significantly less than what would otherwise have been recommended to the Court. This defendant should consider himself very fortunate that the victim's family — in a show of tremendous mercy — requested this case be resolved in this manner," he said.

"I wish to remind the public that impaired driving is not limited to being under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol," Billhimer said. "The combined effects of ingesting even prescription medications might very well have a deleterious impact upon one's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle."

"I urge all motorists who use prescription medications to exercise extreme caution before they drive; failure to do so may produce deadly consequences, as this case so painfully demonstrates," he said.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Abatemarco handled the case. The Prosecutor's Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Lacey Township Police Department, Stafford Township Police Department, Manchester Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.

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