Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Chesterfield Township Police Chief Michael Davison announced that a 20-year-old Chesterfield man was charged with causing the death of a cyclist he struck with his pickup truck while traveling at a high rate of speed in the 100 block of Sykesville Road late last year.
Dylan Weatherwalks, of the 700 block of Monmouth Road, was charged with Vehicular Homicide (Second Degree). He surrendered this morning and was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a first appearance in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
The investigation began after officers from the Chesterfield Township Police Department were dispatched to the scene of the collision on December 4 at approximately 12:15 p.m.
The investigation revealed that the defendant came upon a group of cyclists while traveling southbound along Sykesville Road, a two-lane roadway with no shoulders. Weatherwalks veered into the northbound lane to pass the cyclists on a hill with an obstructed view of oncoming traffic.
The investigation further revealed that as Weatherwalks crested the hill, he encountered a vehicle traveling toward him and veered back into the southbound lane, over-correcting and striking cyclist Julie Galezniak, 62, of Stratford. Galezniak was thrown from her bike and sustained severe injuries, including a fractured skull. She was airlifted to a Trenton hospital and died later that afternoon.
An analysis performed by the New Jersey State Police Fatal Accident Reconstruction Unit determined that Weatherwalks was traveling at a speed of 75 MPH as he approached the cyclists in his Chevrolet Silverado. The speed limit along that stretch of Sykesville Road is posted as 50 MPH.
In addition to the criminal charges, Weatherwalks was issued traffic summonses for speeding, reckless driving, careless driving, and improper passing.
The investigation was conducted by the Chesterfield Township Police Department, the Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police. Weatherwalks will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Julian Harris.
All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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