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Daniela Correia Salles

Age : 35

Gender : Female

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 10/09/2021

Location : Garden State Parkway N at Asbury Ave

City : Tinton Falls

County : Monmouth

State : New Jersey

Agency : Hillsdale Borough Police

Officer(s) :John P. McClave III

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by off-duty police officer vehicle crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 10/09/2021, shortly before 7:30 p.m., 35-year-old Daniela Correia Salles was riding with her husband, 40-year-old Angel L. Acevedo Jr., in their 2020 Toyota Corolla eastbound on Asbury Avenue beneath the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls when an off-duty Hillside Police officer's pickup left the elevated Parkway and crashed into their car. Daniela and Angel sustained catastrophic injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Officer John P. McClave III was driving a 2018 GMC Canyon northbound on the Garden State Parkway while traveling to work at the Hillside Police Department. Investigators determined that his pickup left the travel lane, crossed the shoulder and continued for more than 500 feet across the grassy embankment without significantly slowing or changing direction. The truck struck an embankment, became airborne and came down onto the couple's Corolla on Asbury Avenue before continuing across the roadway and striking a tree.
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Investigators subsequently determined that McClave had been driving recklessly while impaired. His blood tested positive for THC, toxicology evidence concluded he was impaired, and an open container of alcohol was found in his vehicle. McClave survived with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
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Daniela grew up in Salvador, Brazil, became a physician specializing in pathology and came to the United States to advance her medical career at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her family described her as intelligent, beautiful and optimistic. Angel was immensely proud of her career and described her as his soulmate.
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Daniela and Angel shared a life centered around family, friends and travel. They explored hiking trails together, traveled internationally, skied, enjoyed photography and regularly brought people together at their home. Friends and relatives remembered them for their kindness, humor and positive outlook. Daniela left behind her parents, two sisters, a niece and extended family in Brazil.
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DISPOSITION:
McClave was charged in March 2022 with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide and was suspended without pay by the Hillside Police Department. The prosecution was eventually transferred from Monmouth County to Ocean County because of a potential conflict of interest.
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Following a weeklong trial, an Ocean County jury convicted McClave in March 2026 of two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide. On 05/08/2026, Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch sentenced him to consecutive 8½-year terms for killing Daniela and Angel, totaling 17 years in state prison. McClave must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
John P. McClave III was a Hillside Police officer and later detective. He was off duty but driving to the Hillside Police Department to begin work when he killed Daniela and Angel. Hillside Police suspended him without pay following the criminal charges, and he was a former Hillside officer by the time he was convicted and sentenced.
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Hillside Police disciplinary records later documented a 288-day suspension against McClave and sustained departmental charges including conduct unbecoming, violations of the code of ethics and standards of conduct, disobedience of laws and written directives, insubordination and other sufficient cause.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/tinton-falls-cop-headed-work-caused-fatal-parkway-crash
https://apnews.com/article/police-new-jersey-homicide-maryland-baltimore-2fb18070033b26a207ec73b9fac0bf7f
https://www.damianofuneralhome.com/obituary/AngelLAcevedoJrand-DanielaCorreiaSalles
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Off-duty-NJ-officer-charged-in-crash-that-killed-17015147.php
https://patch.com/new-jersey/clark/union-county-police-officer-was-drunk-fatal-crash-prosecutor
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/police-officer-sentenced-new-jersey-union-county-crash-deadly/4401999/
https://patch.com/new-jersey/tomsriver/ex-police-officer-toms-river-sentenced-fatal-drunken-parkway-crash
https://hillsidepolice.org/css/hillsidepd/attachments/24593/65dfb6a0471c8_2023_Discipline_Report.pdf