Man gets no prison for killing NJ family in Route 1 collision

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Maryland man involved in a Delaware collision that killed five members of a Teaneck, New Jersey, family in July 2018 has been sentenced to one year of probation.

Alvin Hubbard III, of Cambridge, was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty in June to five misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle causing death and two misdemeanor counts of vehicular assault.

The judge gave the 46-year-old Hubbard the maximum combined sentence of 14 years but suspended the prison time for a year of probation. Prosecutors sought a six-month sentence.

Hubbard was initially charged with five counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, three counts of vehicular assault and other offenses.

Authorities said Hubbard, a welder coming from a job, operated his pickup truck in a criminally negligent manner when it crossed the median of Route 1, struck a sedan and then was hit by the family's minivan.

Hubbard's attorney said that his client has a condition that makes him cough violently, sometimes to the point of passing out. Prosecutors, however, said Hubbard had slept just five hours the day before a long shift.

Mary Rose Ballocanag survived the crash, but it killed her 61-year-old husband, Audie Trinidad, and their four daughters Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 13-year-old twins Melissa and Allison.