A vacation to Hawaii ended tragically for three New Jersey area friends visiting the Big Island last month. Benjamin Fleming has been charged with manslaughter for the death of Abhishek Gupta. Alexander Germany-Wald, of Montclair, testified that Gupta became “psychotically” drunk inside their rental after being asked to leave a bar. Fleming had to restrain Gupta, who subsequently stopped breathing and died. The three men attended Carnegie Mellon University together and graduated in 2020.
Germany-Wald said Gupta got violent and started a fight with him after being upset that their night ended abruptly at the bar. Fleming, a soldier in the U.S. Army came into the room and restrained Gupta. Judge Cynthia Tai refused a request to be released and upheld a $250,000 bail amount.