Man Charged with Vehicular Homicide

A Willingboro motorist was charged Monday with veering off the roadway and fatally striking a man in July who was making repairs to a disabled vehicle on the shoulder of I-295 in Mansfield, according to Burlinton County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and State Police Superintendent Col. Rich Fuentes.

Charles A. James, 41, of 38 Paddock Lane, was charged with vehicular homicide and two counts of assault by auto. The charges were filed Sept. 6 after toxicology tests determined James was impaired at the time of the collision. Bail was set at $125,000 with no 10 percent by the Hon. James W. Palmer, J.S.C.

The investigation determined that on July 29, at approximately 11 p.m., James was traveling northbound on I-295 in Mansfield Township when his vehicle struck a disabled SUV on the right side shoulder.

Keith Buxton, 56, of Evesham, was standing in front of the SUV working on the engine when James crashed into the vehicle. The impact threw Buxton over the guardrail and down an embankment, killing him.

Buxton’s daughter, Kristen, 25, who was standing next to the vehicle, suffered an injured wrist and facial lacerations. Michael Cericola, 25, of Staten Island, NY, who was in the driver’s seat of the disabled vehicle at the time of the collision, suffered back pain, facial bruises and lacerations to his knee. James was not seriously injured.

Cericola had called the Buxtons for assistance after his vehicle became disabled. They drove to help him and had parked their vehicle adjacent to Cericola’s on the passenger side. Keith Buxton’s wife, Donna, was in the family’s vehicle at the time of the collision but was not injured.

James was taken into custody at his residence on Sept. 9 by New Jersey State Police. He had his first appearance in Burlington County Superior Court before the Hon. Jeanne T. Covert, J.S.C. Monday. The case was investigated by the New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Unit.