A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to prison in December after causing the death of a 76-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Hackettstown while fleeing from law enforcement, authorities said.
Sean Mamakas, 34, of Kempton in Berks County, was sentenced to 18 years in New Jersey State Prison on Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter. Mamakas must serve 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
He was sentenced by Judge Reema Kareer in Warren County Superior Court.
Mamakas was driving an SUV that collided with the rear of a motorcycle driven by Michael Ceddia around 10:20 a.m. Aug. 13 on County Road 521 near Dogwood Road in Hope Township, according to acting Warren County Prosecutor Anthony Picione.
Ceddia was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the crash scene, authorities said. An obituary says Ceddia served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1972.
A New Jersey state trooper tried to pull Mamakas over on Interstate 80, but he fled and then exited the highway onto County Road 521, authorities said. Mamakas drove south on 521, passed a vehicle and collided with Ceddia on the motorcycle, authorities said.
The impact also caused Mamakas to lose control of his SUV, which left the roadway and came to rest in a wooded area.
Mamakas suffered minor injuries after the SUV he was driving veered off the road and into the woods, authorities said.
Mamakas was charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter and single counts of eluding police, vehicular homicide and aggravated assault.
The prosecutor’s office did not say why the trooper tried to stop Mamakas on I-80.