A woman from Middletown has been sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for causing the death of her 18-year-old passenger and seriously injuring another passenger in a crash on the Garden State Parkway in the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2018.
Kimberly Franklin, 20, of Middletown, was sentenced on May 13 to serve 10 years in a New Jersey state prison and must complete 85 percent of the term before she can be eligible for parole, according to information provided by Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
In addition, the judge ordered that Franklin is subject to a 15-year loss of license to begin upon her release from prison, according to the statement.
Franklin pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 to aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, assault by auto and driving while intoxicated which caused the death of Nicole Smith, 18, of Middletown, and seriously injured a 20-year-old female passenger on Nov. 26, 2018.
The defendant was charged following an investigation by Detective Anthony Giunta of the New Jersey State Police and Detective Jonathan Berman of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office which determined that Franklin was driving a 2018 Dodge Charger, in excessive speed while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, according to the statement.
She rear-ended a 2009 Nissan Rogue on the southbound Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge and then proceeded to strike a guard rail and tree. The Dodge then overturned causing her two passengers to be ejected from the vehicle, according to the statement.