Toms River Crash Survivor Sentenced

The Toms River 19-year-old, who survived a horrific crash that killed his friend instantly almost a year ago, will spend up to three-and-a-half years behind bars.

Connor Hanifin was sentenced today in Ocean County Superior Court for the guilty pleas he entered in October for charges of vehicular homicide and driving while impaired, according to information from the office of Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.

He'll be required to serve 85 percent of the term before parole eligibility.

Francis Duddy, 19, also of Toms River, was pronounced dead at the site of the crash about an hour-and-a-half after investigators were called to the spot at the end of Yellow Bank Road.

Hanifin was behind the wheel of the Honda Civic that police found lodged vertically, nose to ground, against trees in the cul-de-sac on February 8, 2014, at about 1:36 AM, investigators said.

Hanifin and Duddy, his front passenger, were trapped inside. Duddy was pronounced dead at 3:15 AM while Hanifin was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

Speeding along Yellow Bank Road, Hanifin lost control on a curve approaching Vaughn Avenue, investigators said.

Responding officers found open alcohol containers in the car, and a test of Hanifin's blood sample indicated alcohol content exceeding the New Jersey legal limit of 0.08, authorities said.