Crime & Safety

Driver in Accident That Killed Barnegat Man Receives Traffic Summonses

No criminal charges filed against 25-year-old Stafford man who struck and killed pedestrian last month

The driver who struck and killed a Barnegat man last month has been issued traffic summonses, but the deadly incident has led to no criminal charges, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Assistant prosecutor Steven Cucci said 25-year-old Robert Kusznikow of Stafford had been issued motor vehicle summonses recently “because the 30-day statute of limitations was going to expire.”

Michael Grosso Jr., 76, was standing outside his SUV on Mermaid Drive in Manahawkin at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 when he was struck by a car driven by Kusznikow, who is the son of Stafford Township Councilman Robert Kusznikow. Grosso was transported to Southern Ocean County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

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A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said early in the investigation that they were awaiting blood analysis for Kusznikow before making any determinations on whether charges would be filed. Cucci said he could not comment on the results of such a test, but confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed.

Cucci also pointed out some misreported details regarding Kusznikow’s driving record, which includes a number of DUI charges.

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State motor vehicle records show Kusznikow has four arrests on his record for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. At the time of the September incident, Motor Vehicles Commission representative Michael Horan said that state law mandates a 10-year license suspension for drivers arrested for a third DUI within 10 years of their second DUI arrest.

But Cucci said two of the arrests on Kusznikow’s record did not count toward a 10-year suspension.

The first arrest, in 2002, occurred when Kusznikow was a teenager. Because he was operating a moped at the time, the consequences were dictated by “a completely separate statute,” said Cucci.

He was still underage when he was arrested for drinking and driving again, in 2004. “The second offense was for driving having consumed liquor underage,” said Cucci, which is also covered by a different statute. As a result, he said, neither was handled under New Jersey’s main drunk driving law.

Kusznikow received two other DUI charges, one in September 2006 and another in April 2007. According to Horan, the 2006 arrest was handled in Ocean County’s Superior Court, and Kusznikow’s driving privileges were suspended for two years.

The next arrest came seven months later, and was handled by Stafford’s municipal court, resulting in another 210-day suspension, Horan said.

Cucci said that it was his office’s understanding that Kusznikow’s license was not suspended at the time of the accident that killed Grosso, and he continues to hold driving privileges.


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