MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Howell man pleaded guilty to strict liability vehicular homicide and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with a 2020 incident that left one person dead.
Stephen McGuire, 48, of Howell, entered his plea on Nov. 3 before Judge David M. Fritch.
The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 12, 2020, at Heritage Minerals Mine on Route 70 in Whiting.
Officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the scene at approximately 8:30 p.m. for a report of a motor vehicle accident with submersion.
Responding officers spoke to a group of individuals who were operating utility terrain vehicles.
The group told officers that a UTV had driven into the lake at the center of the property, causing the UTV and its passengers to be submerged.
An investigation revealed that a UTV driven by McGuire entered the lake with James Grover, 62, of Howell, and three minors as passengers.
The UTV and Grover did not resurface.
Members of the group attempted to locate Grover but were unsuccessful.
Manchester Township police and members of the Manchester, Ridgeway and Whiting volunteer fire companies conducted an underwater dive search and rescue operation.
The UTV was located overturned and submerged in 25 feet of water.
Grover was attached to the UTV by his safety harness.
Life-saving measures were performed by Manchester Township emergency medical technicians and Robert Wood Johnson paramedics.
Grover was pronounced dead at the scene.
McGuire was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River.
A warrant was obtained for a blood draw.
Laboratory results received on Jan. 5, 2021, revealed that McGuire had a blood alcohol concentration of .127.
In New Jersey, an operator of a motor vehicle is presumed to be over the legal limit where his or her BAC is .08 or greater.
McGuire was arrested on Jan. 5, 2021, at his residence in Howell by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and officers from Manchester Township Police Department.
He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the plea agreement was reached after extensive discussions with Grover’s family, who expressed a desire to extend mercy to the defendant.
The state will seek a three-year prison term at sentencing on Jan. 9, 2026.
