A 45-year-old Wantage man who admitted his role in a fatal crash in 2021 that killed an 18-year-old high school senior was sentenced to 180 days in jail during a courtroom hearing last month filled with tearful pleas and explosive grief.
“Jonathan was a gift, and what an amazing gift he was,” Sandi Fett said as she broke into sobs recalling memories of her son, Jonathan Fett, who died when his Jeep Cherokee was struck by a GMC Sierra in Wantage on June 13, 2021. The automotive enthusiast who had considered enrolling in the U.S. Marines was just five days shy of graduating from Sussex County Technical School.
“I am a lesser person without Jonathan. I am a lesser mother because my son, my gift, has been taken away senselessly,” she said during the sentencing of Brian Weiss in state Superior Court in Sussex County on Dec. 13.
Weiss was behind the wheel of the GMC around 1:30 a.m. traveling north on County Route 519 when his pickup truck struck the driver side of Fett’s Jeep at the intersection of County Route 650, according to state police. Weiss and a passenger in his vehicle were not injured.
On June 8, 2022, nearly a year after the crash, Weiss was charged with third-degree strict liability vehicular homicide, a statute that was enacted by the New Jersey Legislature in 2017. The law states that if an individual is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and is involved in an accident that leads to the death of another, they can be held criminally responsible. Unlike a second-degree vehicular homicide, the law does not require proof that the person drove recklessly and caused the accident.
Weiss admitted he was driving under the influence — prosecutors say his blood-alcohol content was .141%, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08% — and was driving 17 mph over the posted speed limit, or 57 mph, two seconds before impact.
While Weiss accepted his role in the crash, the yearlong New Jersey State Police investigation determined that the crash was caused by Fett; Fett failed to stop at the stop sign and crossed into traffic, a finding that was undisputed by prosecutors, said Judge Michael Gaus.
Weiss, who also admitted to a driving while intoxicated charge — his second — will serve five years on probation and will be required to undergo a substance abuse evaluation upon his release from Morris County Jail, where Sussex offenders serve their terms. Gregg Wisotsky, Weiss’ defense attorney, had argued for no jail, and once sentenced, requested the jail term be suspended. Gaus denied his requests.
Weiss had a “chance to learn” from a prior DWI conviction but still put others’ lives at risk when he drove “highly, highly intoxicated,” Gaus said. The case, Gaus said, was a prime example of why the law was enacted due to the scourge of drunk driving in the state.
Since the New Jersey statute went into effect in 2017, it has never been tested in litigation, meaning no court has previously interpreted the statute, and prosecutors and defense attorneys would have been exposed to “great risk” had they decided to go to trial, the judge said.
Jonathan Fett: A life cut short too soon
The 18-year-old left a lasting impression on many friends and family members, including his sister, Isabella, who remembered her older brother as someone that was always there for her, who would teach her wrong from right and who helped her whenever she needed.
“He was my whole life,” she said. “He was always there for me.”
Fett’s mother, Sandi Fett, broke down several times in sobs during the hearing, stating that she would mourn and cry for her son daily, recalling moments that she’ll never forgot, such as his smile, his jokes and the “20 texts and five calls” she’d receive from her son each day. Her friend, Malina Bennett, said Fett was a “true gentleman” who helped her when she lost her own son years prior.
His willingness to help others resonated with many who spoke, and also was the reason Fett was driving the morning of the crash; At the time of the crash, Fett was headed to help out a friend whose car had broken down.
Fett’s father, Michael Fett, drew upon Weiss’ own tragedy when his 19-year-old brother died when he was 16 years old.
“You’d think a person who had such a loss of a loved one at a young age would have more value for life,” he said.
About 15 letters from family, friends, co-workers and mentors were provided to the court on Weiss’ behalf, with his attorney stating that his client was a “loving, selfless, hard-working” man who had worked for the same company for 23 years. He understood the damage he had caused the family, his attorney said, citing a presentence report done by the court.
Weiss told the court he wanted to meet the Fett family and get to know them because having lost his own brother, he “understood” what they were going through.
“All I ask is that you guys keep your head up, work hard and support each other, because that is the only thing that got us through it,” Weiss said, referring to his own family’s grieving process. “I’m very, extremely remorseful and I am sorry.”
Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wantage NJ man sentenced to prison for role in fatal crash