Crime & Safety

Sentencing Postponed for Westfield Crossing Guards Who Killed Scotch Plains Woman While DUI

Charles Casiere and John Diaz pleaded guilty to drinking prior to hitting Patricia Currie on North Avenue in January of 2012.

The sentencing date for , 75, of Westfield, who pleaded guilty to drinking before hitting and killing Scotch Plains resident Patricia Currie has been postponed, according to Diaz's attorney Anthony Rinaldo.

Sentencing, originally set for Friday, April 26, has been moved to Friday, May 10. Rinaldo said several factors contributed to the postponement, including the inability of an attorney to make this Friday's date. The attorney also explained that more time was needed to gather additional medical information about his client, who suffers from several health conditions.

In March, Casiere, a Westfield crossing guard, pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, vehicular homicide and aggravated assault with an automobile in the January 2012 death of Currie. Shortly after 6 p.m., the 68-year-old Scotch Plains resident was crossing North Avenue after she grazed a pedestrian with her car and was attempting to lead him out of the roadway. As he told Superior Court Judge John Triarsi, according to a report by NJ.com, Casiere consumed "two to three vodkas on the rocks" before he struck Currie and the man she had hit. Just moments later, Diaz, also a crossing guard, hit Currie with his GMC pickup truck. She died later of her injuries.

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Diaz, who had initially stopped, left the scene prior to police arriving. He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident, which is a second-degree crime. 

The two told Triarsi that they had been drinking together at the North Avenue Knights of Columbus Hall.

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According to the attorneys for Casiere and Diaz, the men are seeking probation with no jail time. 

Currie, who lived in Scotch Plains for 40 years, was remembered as a loving mother to Craig Currie and Tricia Adams, devoted sister to Carole and Thomas E. Sullivan, and loving grandmother to Craig, Jr., Catherine, Olivia, and Allie.

A relative of Currie's told Patch the new sentencing date, just days before Mother's Day, is particularly sad for the family. 


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