Stafford Councilman's Son Charged With Vehicular Homicide, DUI For Deadly Crash

The Stafford man who struck and killed a Barnegat grandfather in September has been arrested on vehicular manslaughter charges, including driving while intoxicated, prosecutors announced today in a press release.

, 25, was arrested Thursday at the Stafford Township Police Department, said Supervising Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Steven N. Cucci in the release.

, 76, was standing outside his SUV on Mermaid Drive in Manahawkin at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 when he was struck by a pickup truck driven by Kusznikow. Prosecutors said in today's news release that Kusznikow veered off the road and struck a utility pole before hitting Grosso. Grosso was transported to Southern Ocean County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Kusznikow, who is the son of Stafford Township Councilman Robert Kusznikow, has a number of DUI offenses on his driving record. He was arrested in 2002 as a teenager for operating a moped while intoxicated.

He was still underage when he was arrested for drinking and driving again, in 2004, for driving having consumed liquor underage. Kusznikow received two other DUI charges, one in September 2006 and another in April 2007, and had his license suspended as a result.

Cucci told Patch previously that it was his office’s understanding that Kusznikow’s license was not suspended at the time of the accident that killed Grosso, and he continues to hold driving privileges.

Kusznikow was also charged with reckless driving in connection with the incident, prosecutors said. He was remanded to the in lieu of $150,000 bail.

The investigation into the fatal crash is ongoing, said prosecutors. Anyone with information relative to the incident is asked to contact Detective John Hill of the Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, ext. 3225.