A judge sentenced Levon A. Woods to seven years in prison Monday for a drunk-driving crash that killed newlyweds Thomas Splinter and Nancy Orellana-Splinter on a rural Cumberland County road in February 2025. Woods tearfully apologized in court before learning his fate, telling the judge the crash “was senseless.”
According to nj.com, Woods was driving on Mays Landing Road in Maurice River Township around 4 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2025, when his car crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a westbound vehicle driven by 57-year-old Thomas Splinter. Splinter and his 29-year-old wife, Nancy, died at the scene. The couple lived in Mays Landing and had married just months earlier, in September, per the same account.
Woods pleaded guilty in June to two second-degree vehicular homicide charges, the outlet reports. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol concentration measured 0.095% four hours after the crash. The Courier-Post reported that the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Woods admitted guilt to the vehicular homicide of the couple.
Sentence Carries Years of Supervision Beyond Prison
Judge D'Arrigo sentenced Woods to two concurrent seven-year prison terms, and per the same account, he must serve 85% of that time before becoming eligible for parole. Woods will also serve three years of parole supervision once released and must pay $7,500 in restitution, the station's report notes.
Court records reviewed by nj.com and the Courier-Post differ on some basic identifying details. nj.com reported Woods is 26 and from Atlantic City, while the Courier-Post's headline described him as a Vineland man.
A Broader Pattern on New Jersey Roads
The case adds to a string of fatal drunk- or impaired-driving crashes across New Jersey, even as statewide numbers have trended downward. According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, preliminary data shows fatal crashes declined by nearly 16%, from 647 in 2024 to 547 in 2025.
Not every similar case in New Jersey has ended with prison time. In a separate case out of Morris County, NJ 101.5 reported that Cody Bonds pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide after crossing a double yellow line and hitting another vehicle head-on, killing a young woman, but avoided prison in that sentencing.
For the Splinter family, the outcome in Cumberland County closes out a case that began with a late-night crash on a quiet stretch of Mays Landing Road and ended with Woods standing before a judge, apologizing for a loss he called senseless.
