Driver faces homicide charge for Aberdeen crash FREEHOLD - A grand jury returned an indictment Oct. 24 charging a Belford man with second-degree vehicular homicide for a crash in Aberdeen that killed a pedestrian. The fatal crash occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. on March 11 near the intersection of Lloyd and Nutmeg roads. A collaborative investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) and the Aberdeen Township Police Department determined that James C. Letual, 36, was operating a 1997 Chevy Blazer in a westbound direction on Lloyd Road. Letual's Blazer then left the roadway, driving over a curb and across a sidewalk before striking a sign for a NJ Transit bus stop with sufficient force to pull the sign from the ground. The vehicle continued, careening over a grassy area and then striking a pedestrian, Elida Serrano, 47, of Aberdeen. The car then struck and dislodged a second signpost, and proceeded across the intersection of Nutmeg Road before finally coming to rest on the front lawn of a residence. Mrs. Serrano, who resided just around the corner and was walking her dog at the time of the crash, sustained multiple blunt force trauma injuries, including fractures to both legs and pelvis. She received emergency treatment on the scene before being transported to Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel, where she was pronounced dead. The investigation concluded that before he left the roadway, Letual had fallen asleep behind the wheel of the vehicle, and that he had had little or no sleep in the 40 hours immediately prior to the fatal crash. The investigation also revealed that Letual had cocaine as well as a prescription sleeping pill in his system at the time of the crash. If convicted of vehicular homicide, Letual faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Any custodial sentence for that crime would also be subject to the No Early Release Act, which would require that he serve 85 percent of whatever sentence is imposed before he could be released on parole. Letual is free on $150,000 bail, which was set by Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet. "Letual's conscious decision to operate a motor vehicle under these conditions led to the untimely death of Mrs. Serrano. Operation of a motor vehicle requires optimum responsibility and attention," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin said in a press release.