Pharmaceutical exec charged in Lakewood deadly wrong-way crash

A pharmaceutical executive has been accused of speeding over 100 mph the wrong way in a luxury Cadillac before causing an eight-car crash that killed a former Olympic swimmer in Lakewood.

After being treated for extensive burns from the fiery wreck, Brian Baldari, of Brick, was criminally charged on Wednesday in the March death of 66-year-old Manchester resident Edwin Borja.

The 47-year-old Baldari has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide and assault by auto for the disaster along Route 70.

NJ man charged in wrong-way high-speed crash that killed second driver (Ocean County jail, costello-greiner.com, Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)

Speeding in Cadillac the wrong way before the Lakewood crash, cops say

Investigators said Baldari was at the wheel of a $150,000 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing when he sped 103 miles per hour while going the wrong direction in the east-bound lanes for over two miles. He collided head-on with a Mazda CX5 crossover SUV driven by Borja.

On March 7 at 5:50 a.m., Lakewood police responded to calls of the wreck along Route 70 near Airport Road.

The Cadillac had caught fire with Baldari trapped inside, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

Baldari was cut out, rescued and airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

He was then transferred to Weill Cornell Medicine Burn Center in New York City before being released.

Edwin Borja of Manchester died of his crash injuries in March (costello-greiner.com)

Ocean County crash victim had Olympic swimming career

Borja was also airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Less than two weeks later, he died of his crash injuries on March 18.

Borja is survived by a large family and was a two-time Olympic swimmer for the Philippines as a younger man, according to his obituary.

The driver of a third vehicle in the crash was also treated for injuries at a different hospital.

Baldari has a professional doctorate in pharmacy and has worked in pharmaceutical marketing for over 20 years, according to his LinkedIn page.

Billhimer did not disclose any other potential factors in Baldari’s alleged reckless behavior.

Video from News 12 on YouTube shows all the vehicles scattered across the lanes of traffic after the massive crash.

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