Attorney: Vernon man unknowingly ingested potentially fatal dose of fentanyl before crash

The 29-year-old Vernon man accused of killing three persons after his vehicle careened into a Route 23 gas station in February had unknowingly ingested a potentially fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin on his way back from Paterson shortly before losing consciousness behind his steering wheel, according to his attorney.

Jason Vanderee, who pleaded not guilty in May to a 12-count indictment that includes three counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, has yet to be offered a plea deal by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. But should the case go to trial, his attorney, John Latoracca, has advised the prosecutor that he will pursue an involuntary intoxication defense, arguing that a “substance (fentanyl) that Vanderee did not knowingly ingest incapacitated him, resulting in the fatal accident,” Latoracca told the New Jersey Herald.

Fentanyl, according to the state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, is one of the deadliest opioids with a potency 50 times more powerful than heroin. The easy-to-manufacture drug has become ubiquitous in the state’s illegal drug market and played a role in the death of nearly 1,400 people, or about half of the state’s drug overdose deaths.

The individual who sold Vanderee the heroin, Latoracca said, “bears moral, if not legal, responsibility for the victims’ deaths.”

Under New Jersey’s strict liability for drug-induced death statute, drug dealers face a first-degree crime if they supplied the drug that leads to the user’s overdose death. However, the statute does not consider holding a drug dealer liable in the deaths of third parties killed when the buyer is incapacitated by the drugs purchased from them.

“While I can’t argue to a jury what the law should be, I can certainly make the case that responsibility for this tragedy is not as one-sided as it might otherwise appear,” Latoracca said.

Vanderee required a dose of Narcan to reverse the effects of a drug overdose at the scene of the Feb. 19 crash.

Authorities say he was high when his Honda Pilot veered off Route 23 north in Wayne and crashed into the Delta Gas Station, shearing off the roof of a Chevrolet Camaro and killing the occupants, Jon Warbeck, 50, of Fair Lawn, and Luke Warbeck, 17, of Lincoln Park. Also killed was a gas station attendant, Lovedeep Fatra, 22, of Pequannock.

Latoracca said that had it not been for medical intervention at the scene, Vanderee would have “certainly” died as well.

Vanderee, according to Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Julie Serfess, also had cocaine and benzodiazepines in his system at the time of the crash.

A plea offer is expected to be extended and the remaining discovery produced at Vanderee’s next court hearing on July 15.

On May 14, Vanderee, who Latoracca said is “holding up as well as could be expected” while being held in the Passaic County Jail, pleaded not guilty to the indictment that also charges him with three counts of second-degree reckless death by auto, three counts of third-degree strict liability vehicular homicide, third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance and two counts of fourth-degree assault by auto.

If convicted on all 12 counts against him, Vanderee faces 143 years in state prison.

On the day of the crash, victim Jon Warbeck was observing his 50th birthday and his son, Luke Warbeck, had just received his driver’s license, according to multiple media reports. Fantra, who was just seconds away from the direct path of the crash, had moved to the United States from India for an opportunity to earn a better living.

The city of Paterson in Passaic County serves as the center for drug supplying to users living in rural areas of northern New Jersey along the 53-mile stretch of Route 23, including Sussex County, according to a 2013 report by the New Jersey Commission of Investigation.

Dubbed “Heroin Highway” by the commission, Route 23 cuts through Sussex County from the north in Montague to the south in Hardyston and continues into Morris County. To reach Paterson, travelers merge onto Route 80 in Wayne and take the Downtown Paterson exit.

Vanderee has one prior arrest dating from 2016, where two doses of Narcan were necessary to keep him alive.

According to Serfess, Vanderee was traveling on Route 80 west in Fairfield when he injected numerous bags of heroin, overdosed and crashed into a guardrail. When first responders arrived on scene, Vanderee was unconscious behind the wheel without a pulse and revived with two doses of Narcan. Police found 20 bags of heroin and syringes in Vanderee’s car.

In 2017, Vanderee pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence and a judge suspended his license for seven months. The drug charges were dropped as part of the plea.

Latoracca noted that Vanderee has, over the years, gone to rehabilitation programs and facilities, but noted February’s incident was a testament to “how difficult it is to break addiction to opiates.”

Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.