A Howell man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and child endangerment in connection with a deadly 2020 crash at the Heritage Minerals site in Manchester Township that left one man dead and three minors endangered.
Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer announced that Stephen McGuire, 48, entered guilty pleas before Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch, admitting to Strict Liability Vehicular Homicide and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
McGuire is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2026, when prosecutors will seek a three-year state prison term.
The tragedy dates back to the night of December 12, 2020, when Manchester Township Police were called to the Heritage Minerals Mine—also known as ASARCO—off Route 70 in Whiting, after reports that a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) had plunged into a lake on the sprawling property.
Investigators determined that McGuire was operating the UTV, with James Grover, 62, of Howell, and three minors as passengers, when the vehicle entered the lake and quickly submerged. The UTV and Grover never resurfaced.
A large-scale dive and rescue operation involving multiple local fire companies eventually located the UTV overturned and submerged 25 feet underwater. Grover was discovered still strapped into his safety harness. Grover was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the crash, McGuire was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where authorities obtained a court-ordered blood draw. Laboratory analysis later revealed that McGuire’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .127, well above the legal limit of .08 in New Jersey.
McGuire was arrested weeks later, on January 5, 2021, at his home in Howell without incident. He was initially held at the Ocean County Jail but later released under the state’s bail reform guidelines.
Prosecutor Billhimer said the plea deal was reached after “extensive discussions” with the victim’s family, who urged leniency despite their loss.
“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,” Billhimer said. “Their compassionate and forgiving nature brings this very difficult chapter to a close and permits the healing process to begin. We hope this resolution provides Mr. Grover’s family with some level of peace.”
McGuire remains free pending sentencing. His guilty plea brings an end to one of Ocean County’s most tragic recreational crashes in recent years, underscoring once again the deadly consequences of drinking and driving.