Belford man pleads guilty to vehicular homicide FREEHOLD - On April 7, James C. Letual, 36, of the Belford section of Middletown, pleaded guilty to the seconddegree crime of vehicular homicide, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. The charge resulted from aMarch 2007 crash inAberdeen Township in which a pedestrian was killed. Letual entered his plea pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement before Superior Court Judge Edward M. Neafsey, sitting in Freehold. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 3. Pursuant to the terms of Letual's plea agreement, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will recommend that Letual be sentenced to a seven-year state prison term. Pursuant to the No Early ReleaseAct, Letual must serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before he can be released on parole. The fatal crash occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. onMarch 11, 2007, in the vicinity of the intersection of Lloyd and Nutmeg roads in Aberdeen. 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 revealed that Letual was operating a 1997 Chevy Blazer in a westbound direction on Lloyd Road. Letual's Blazer 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. Serrano, who resided a short distance away and who was walking her dog at the time of the crash, sustained multiple blunt force trauma injuries, including fractures of her pelvis and both legs. She received emergency treatment on the scene before being transported to Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel where she was pronounced dead. The investigation further determined that before his Blazer 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. Additionally, the investigation also revealed that Letual had cocaine as well as a prescription sleeping pill in his system at the time of the crash. Letual is free on $150,000 bail which was previously set by Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet. Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin stated, "Letual's terrible judgment in deciding to get behind the wheel while obviously fatigued, and after ingesting a sleeping pill and illegal drugs, caused this tragedy. Without these reckless decisions, the death of Mrs. Serrano would never have occurred. This plea agreement and term of incarceration ensure that this defendant will be held accountable for his actions."