Street racer who killed New Brunswick vice principal gets 13 years

The man charged with killing New Brunswick High School vice principal Tyrone Harrison in a street race and then covering his tracks with a fake story about his car being stolen was sentenced Wednesday to a total of 13 years in prison.

Harrison, 49, was walking to a relative's home along Stelton Avenue in Piscataway from the Edison train station on the evening of Oct. 6, 2018, when he was struck by a 2003 Honda Accord driven by Freddy S. Garcia Jr., 22, of Piscataway, according to prosecutors.

Garcia abandoned the car at the scene and later told investigators that his Honda had been stolen earlier.

Garcia was sentenced to 10 years for vehicular homicide and is subject to the No Early Release Act, which means he will have to serve the first 8 ½ years of this prison term before becoming eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to three years for leaving the scene of an accident, which he will serve after the 10-year sentence.

He will also lose his license for three years after his release from prison.

He pleaded guilty on May 31.

Sohjah Powell-Warner, 21, of Piscataway, was also charged with altering the Facebook and Instagram pages of the car enthusiast group 78 Imports and charged with hindering the crash investigation.

Garcia apologized to Tyrone Harrison's family during his sentencing on Wednesday.

Before the sentence was handed down, Harrison's widow remembered her husband as a compassionate man who many depended on, according to coverage by the Bridgewater Courier News.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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