The driver who rear-ended a car carrying five members of a Villas family, leading to the subsequent death of one of them, is now facing up to 10 years in state prison after being charged with vehicular homicide.
Joseph E. Orozco, 22, of Rio Grande, was charged Jan. 21 in Maurice River Municipal Court with one count of vehicular homicide and four counts of assault by auto after he struck the rear of a vehicle driven by Joseph Lowry of Villas on Oct. 30, 2024. Lowry later died while in rehabilitative care.
Lowry and his wife, Jen, had driven to Washington Township to pick up their niece, Alex-Andre Shepherd, and their niece’s two daughters from the hospital. Shepherd’s car had been rear-ended about nine hours earlier, on Oct. 29, as she was stopped waiting for a left-turning car.
The family was heading home Oct. 30 at about 3:27 a.m., driving south on Route 347 in Maurice River Township, Cumberland County, when their Volvo was struck by Orozco’s 2007 Subaru Legacy, forcing the Volvo off the right side of the road, where it made an uncontrolled stop, striking trees. All five family members were injured.
The Subaru ran off the left side of the road; neither Orozco nor his two passengers were injured. Orozco was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. According to the complaint filed against him, his blood alcohol content at the time of the accident was 0.143; under state law a driver is considered drunk at 0.08.
He was charged Jan. 21 for causing the death of Joseph Lowry and for injuries sustained by Shepherd, her two daughters, and Shepherd’s aunt. Orozco was housed in the Cumberland County Jail following his court appearance, a State Police spokesman said; a detention hearing was scheduled for Jan. 30.
Lowry and Shepherd, who was riding in the front passenger seat because her leg was immobilized, seemed to suffer the worst injuries from the accident. Both of Lowry’s legs were broken. All five family members were transported to Cooper University Hospital-Camden.
“I don’t remember anything else until I woke up in Cooper at Camden,” Shepherd said. “(Aunt) Jenny said I was awake and talking, but I don’t remember any of it.”
Shepherd and her uncle remained in Cooper until they were released to acute rehabilitation in Vineland.
Lowry, 53, succumbed to his injuries about a month after the accident, while in acute rehab.
Shepherd has had multiple surgeries and was finally cleared to bear weight on her right side as of Tuesday, Jan. 28. She said she is receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy twice a week, but it is a slow process.
“It’s still super hard and difficult,” she said.
For now she is learning to walk again and regain her range of motion.
Currently, she is off work until May, but that will be reevaluated. Shepherd was working as a waitress at the North Wildwood Elks Club and was studying nursing at Atlantic Cape Community College. She has withdrawn from her current classes due to her injuries.
Her older daughter, 16, had to return to the hospital after initially being released. She returned home again but will be on homebound instruction through the end of the school year. Her younger daughter, 6, is physically fine but still suffers from the trauma of the accident, Shepherd said. Certain things, such as loud noises, can trigger an emotional response, she said.
Shepherd said dealing with isolation has been tough. “Some days you feel isolated, and other days are somewhat OK,” she said.
Asked about her first accident, on Oct. 29, Shepherd said she didn’t really recall much.
“It happened so fast I blacked out for a minute. I was just worried about the girls,” she said.
With her car totaled, she called her aunt and uncle and asked them to pick up her and her daughters, Aubree, 16, and Everleigh, 6, at Jefferson-Washington Township Hospital in Gloucester County. She said X-rays taken at that hospital were inconclusive, not really showing any breaks, but she had pain. She was advised to see an orthopedic doctor after arriving home.
Shepherd said after being picked up by the Lowrys they made a stop at Wawa for coffee and gas, and then the five family members headed south to return to Lower Township.
The other driver involved in Shepherd’s first accident, , Daljit Singh, 31, of Sewell, claimed that Shepherd’s vehicle moved into his lane, but witnesses described Shepherd as being stopped when her car was struck. Singh was charged with careless driving and following too closely.
A GoFundMe page was set up for Shepherd and her daughters immediately after the second accident, and it quickly raised $18,620 toward a $20,000 goal; however, the most recent donation is two months old. When asked how Shepherd was paying her bills, her father said she was depending on her parents.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.