Vineland Man Sentenced for 2014 Crash That Killed Aisling Cooke

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - The Vineland man convicted for the death of a 14-year-old passenger in a car that collided with his pickup truck in 2014, heads to prison for seven to 10 years.

Nicholas Garreffi, 40, was given a seven-year term for a second-degree vehicular homicide charge connected to the death of Aisling Cooke, plus one year each for three fourth-degree assault-by-auto counts, according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner.

Gareffi is required to serve seven aggregate years before parole consideration under New Jersey's No Early Release Act. Upon release, he'll undergo a 20-year suspension of his driver's license.

The three-vehicle crash on Route 40 was reported to Hamilton Township police at 8:42 AM on August 30, 2014. Investigators determined that Garreffi's 2008 Chevrolet Silverado crossed into oncoming traffic, hitting a box truck and then caroming into a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta with five people inside.

The box truck driver was unhurt, authorities said, but the Volkswagen driver, Madelyn Willscroft, 18, of Linwood, and two younger passengers were driven to AtlantiCare Medical Center-City Division for treatment of injuries described as mild to moderate.

Aisling Cooke, riding in the rear seat on the driver's side, sustained critical injuries and was flown to the same hospital. She died on September 3, four days after the collision.

Garreffi was not arrested until July 20, 2015. He was convicted on all counts on August 7 of this year.

Source: Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office