A Howell man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal off-road vehicle crash that claimed the life of a passenger in Manchester Township in 2020. Stephen McGuire, 48, entered the plea on November 3, 2025, to charges of Strict Liability Vehicular Homicide and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
McGuire is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2026, where prosecutors will seek a three-year term in New Jersey State Prison.
The charges stem from an incident on December 12, 2020, when Manchester Township Police were called around 8:30 p.m. to the Heritage Minerals property—also known as ASARCO—off Route 70 in Whiting, for a report of a submerged utility terrain vehicle (UTV). A group of riders told officers that a UTV had driven into the lake at the center of the property and gone under with several occupants inside.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Manchester Police revealed McGuire had been operating the UTV with 62-year-old James Grover of Howell and three minors as passengers. The vehicle entered the water and sank. Grover and the UTV did not resurface.
Emergency responders from Manchester Police, multiple volunteer fire companies, and dive teams located the overturned UTV approximately 25 feet below the surface. Grover was found still strapped into his safety harness. Despite life-saving efforts by first responders and paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
As part of the investigation, McGuire was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where a court-authorized blood draw was conducted. Lab results received on January 5, 2021, showed McGuire’s Blood Alcohol Concentration was .127—well above the legal limit of .08 in New Jersey. He was arrested later that same day at his home in Howell and released under New Jersey Bail Reform guidelines.
“This plea agreement was reached only after extensive discussions with the family of Mr. Grover, who expressed an unequivocal desire to extend mercy to this defendant,” Prosecutor Billhimer said. “Their compassionate and forgiving nature brings this very difficult chapter to a close and permits the healing process to begin.”