A 37-year-old Mays Landing woman has died after an ATV carrying four people struck a fallen tree on Columbia Road in Hamilton Township, throwing all four riders from the vehicle in the pre-dawn darkness. Alaina Huepfel succumbed to her injuries the day after the crash, and the vehicle's driver has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
According to WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM, the crash happened around 2:53 a.m. this past Saturday, when 62-year-old Leon Cassel, also of Mays Landing, was driving a Honda FourTrax 4x4 northbound on Columbia Road. A tree had fallen across the road just north of Oak Street, and the ATV struck it, ejecting all four occupants. None of them were wearing helmets, the station reports.
Cassel was carrying three passengers at the time: Huepfel, 56-year-old Shelly Cassel of Mays Landing, and 36-year-old Brian Beals of Egg Harbor City. Huepfel and Shelly Cassel were both seriously injured and taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, per the same station's report. No other injuries were reported among the group.
Woman Dies Day After the Crash
Huepfel died Sunday from injuries suffered in the crash, Hamilton Township Police confirmed to the outlet. Shelly Cassel remains seriously injured, though further details on her condition have not been released. Leon Cassel has been arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol and related motor vehicle offenses, and he faces additional pending charges as the investigation continues, the station's report notes. Under New Jersey law, anyone charged is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The Hamilton Township Rescue Squad, AtlantiCare paramedics, and the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office all responded to the scene, according to the same account.
Why an ATV on a Public Road Is Already a Problem
Even before alcohol became a factor, the vehicle itself should not have been on Columbia Road in the first place. Under New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 39:3C-17, operating an ATV on public streets or highways is illegal except for direct, perpendicular crossings after a complete stop and limited adjacent-and-parallel operation when immediate access to an adjacent operating area is impracticable and safety conditions are met, according to FindLaw. A separate statute, N.J.S.A. 39:3C-35, mandates that any ATV caught unlawfully on a public road be impounded by police for at least seven days on a first offense, along with a $500 municipal fee plus towing and storage costs, per Justia Law.
The Honda FourTrax involved is also a single-rider machine. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that most utility ATVs, including single-operator FourTrax models, are built strictly for one rider, and carrying passengers severely degrades handling while increasing rollover and ejection risk, according to CPSC.gov. Four adults were reportedly aboard the vehicle when it hit the tree.
A Pattern of Fatal Off-Road and DUI Crashes in the Region
The commission's most recent off-highway vehicle report, covering 2019 through 2021, documented 1,728 ATV-related fatalities nationwide, with vehicle overturns and collisions with stationary objects like trees identified as the leading fatal hazards. New Jersey recorded 107 reported ATV-related deaths.
If prosecutors ultimately pursue vehicular homicide charges, New Jersey's statute N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5 creates a legal presumption of recklessness when a fatal crash involves alcohol impairment, typically charged as a second-degree crime carrying 5 to 10 years in state prison with 85% of that sentence required to be served under the No Early Release Act, according to the Aiello Harris Abate Law Group. It remains an open question whether the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office will formally present such charges against Leon Cassel.
This is not an isolated tragedy for the county. Just weeks ago, a Mays Landing woman pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and DUI over a fatal 2024 crash in Hamilton Township that killed a Stockton University student. Hoodline also recently reported on a fatal off-road vehicle crash involving a 7-year-old in Atlantic City, and on a fatal traffic crash on Black Horse Pike in Pleasantville.
