IRVINGTON, NJ — Carlos Green, 44, of Irvington, was sentenced to 14 years in New Jersey State Prison for striking Billy Ray Dudley, 54, of East Orange, with his vehicle and killing the man, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II in a Sept. 20 release.
Under the No Early Release Act, Green must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Green was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Marysol Rosero.
On Dec. 27, 2014, Dudley, a pedestrian, was struck by a car and killed in Irvington in the area of 19th Avenue and Ellis Street after falling in the middle of the street. Green, who was driving a 2003 Cadillac Escalade, was under the influence of alcohol at the time, according to Assistant Prosecutor Brian Pollock.
Green continued driving for approximately one block when several pedestrians told the driver to return to the scene. Green told police he had two or three drinks that night; he was transported to Rutgers University Hospital, where a blood sample was drawn. Without being placed under arrest, Green was transported home by Irvington police. A search of the car uncovered a partially empty bottle of rum in the trunk. On Dec. 30, 2014, toxicology results on Green’s blood showed that Green had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent — more than two and half times the legal limit.
On Jan. 23, 2015, Green was issued summonses for driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and driving while intoxicated within 1,000 feet of a school. On March 30, 2015, arrest warrants were issued for Green charging him with first-degree vehicular homicide.
The case was delayed getting to trial because of appellate issues regarding whether Green’s prior DWI convictions could be admitted at trial. He had been convicted in 1998 and 2009 of DWI. The appeals court refused to let the prior convictions in at trial. Nonetheless, on May 22 of this year, Green was convicted of vehicular homicide.
“This was not an accident,” Pollock said. “After the prior DWI convictions this defendant was aware of the harm posed. Yet, he continued to get behind the wheel and drive drunk. The outcome of this case is a painful reminder of the consequences of this kind of deliberate, willful disregard for the law.”
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