New Brunswick Man Killed By Unlicensed Teen Driver

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A New Brunswick man was killed last December by an unlicensed teen driver, and the 18-year-old young man was just sentenced to three years in state prison.

The fatal car crash happened at 6:32 a.m. on December 19, 2023 at the intersection of Rt. 130 and Renaissance Boulevard in North Brunswick:

The teenager, Manuel Centeno-Rodriguez,18, of North Brunswick was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado that crashed into a Volkswagenwick Golf. Silverio Castro-Martinez, 69, of New Brunswick, was a rear passenger in the Golf.

The older man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Police say the teen, who was unlicensed, rear-ended the Volkswagen Golf, which was stopped in traffic. The impact of the crash caused the Golf to hit a third car, an Acura RDX that was stopped in front of them.

Castro-Martinez was killed and two other occupants in the Golf sustained serious injuries; a fourth person sustained minor injuries.

On March 18 Centeno-Rodriguez pled guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide and two counts of fourth-degree assault by auto. He was sentenced May 3 to three years in state prison subject to the No Early Release Act, which means he will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence without parole, concurrent to 12 months in prison for each of the auto assault offenses.

After his release from prison, the teen will be on parole supervision for three years.