NJ Driver Sentenced to 3+ Years in Maine for Triple Fatal Crash

A New Jersey man is sentenced to 41 months for a crash in Acadia National Park that killed 3 of his friends.

Praneeth Manubolu, 30, pleaded guilty on January 31st to three counts of manslaughter, two counts of operating under the influence, and one count of unsafe operation of a motor vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine. Judge John A. Woodcock sentenced him to 41 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.

Manubolu is a native of India who, at the time of the crash, was living in New Jersey on a student visa. In the early morning hours of August 31st, 2019, he was driving on the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but his three passengers were all killed, including 36-year-old Lenny Fuchs, 30-year-old Laura Leong, and 27-year-old Zeeshan Mohammed, all of New York City.

Police say Manubolu told investigators that he and his friends had been drinking in Bar Harbor and that one of the passengers warned him of a curve in the road, just prior to the crash. Police say his blood-alcohol content was determined to be .095%, approximately 90 minutes after the crash. The legal limit in Maine for the operation of a motor vehicle is .08%. The investigation also revealed that Manubolu's car was traveling 76 miles per hour about 3 seconds before impact. The speed limit on the section of Park Loop Road where the crash occurred is 25 miles per hour.

The National Park Service and Bar Harbor Police investigated this incident, with assistance from the Maine State Police and Hancock County Sheriff's Office.