Former East Hanover Police Sergeant Sentenced For Fatal Crash
Friday, June 20, 2025, 7:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
RIVERDALE, NJ.- On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Keith M. Gunther, 42, of Wanaque, New Jersey, formerly employed as a Sergeant with the East Hanover Police Department, appeared in Morris County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor to 5 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, which will require Gunther to serve 85% of his custodial term before becoming eligible for parole.
According to Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, on April 8, 2025, Gunther appeared in Superior Court and pleaded guilty before Judge Taylor to second-degree Reckless Vehicular Homicide; third-degree Assault by Auto; and Driving Under the Influence in connection with a fatal crash.
The guilty plea and Tuesday’s sentence stem from an investigation that began on October 15, 2024, when members of the Riverdale Police Department responded to a report of a serious motor vehicle crash on Route 23 in the Borough of Riverdale.
Gunther Was Driving Intoxicated, Resulting In Death
Upon arrival and during the subsequent investigation. Responding Police Officers and Detectives determined that Gunther, who was traveling Southbound in the Northbound lanes of Route 23, collided his Ford F-150 pickup truck head-on into a Toyota Camry, killing the passenger instantly. It was further determined at the time of the crash that Gunther was operating his pickup truck intoxicated, causing the death of the Toyota Camry’s passenger…