A grand jury has indicted a Salem County man on charges that he was hauling farm equipment while intoxicated when he struck and killed a man riding an electric bicycle.
Steven J. Petronglo, 45, was at the wheel of a pickup truck that was pulling a trailer containing a tractor with a 15-foot-wide seeder attachment on the night of April 23, police said. He is accused of hitting the cyclist on Willow Grove Road in Pittsgrove.
James Goode, 61, of Vineland, was riding the bike westbound on the eastbound side of the road and Petronglo’s eastbound truck was “unable to avoid the pedalcyclist,” according to New Jersey State Police.
Goode was struck by the right side of the seeder attachment on the tractor and died of his injuries, police said in April. At the time, police said they didn’t know if Goode was riding on the shoulder or in the lane of travel when he was hit.
After hitting Goode, Petronglo drove from the crash scene to his residence and removed the tractor from the trailer, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in support of the charges.
He then returned to the crash site in a different vehicle, police said.
Following an initial investigation, Petronglo was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, police said in the affidavit.
Last week, a Salem County grand jury handed up an indictment charging Petronglo with second-degree leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, third-degree strict liability vehicular homicide and fourth-degree tampering with evidence.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Petronglo, of Pittsgrove, is free pending trial and is scheduled to return to court Dec. 15 for a post-indictment arraignment hearing.
In October, Goode’s family filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court accusing Petronglo of negligence and recklessness. The suit also names J&E Petronglo and Sons as a defendant and said the farming business owns the vehicle Petronglo was operating when the crash occurred.
Goode was traveling on the shoulder of the roadway when he was struck, according to the suit.
An attorney for the defendants in the lawsuit filed a written response with the court denying the allegations.
