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Wanda Sprague of Pemberton Township had been drinking att a Browns Mills bar before the 2021 collision, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.
Sprague was driving without headlights and over 90 mph at the time of the fatal head-on crash, Bradshaw said.
Under a plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Sprague pleaded guilty in September 2022 to one count of aggravated manslaughter, Bradshaw said.
The investigation began on Dec. 16, 2021 after officers from the Pemberton Township Police Department were dispatched to Lakehurst Road and Rancocas Lane for a report of a motor vehicle collision at approximately 9:15 p.m.
The investigation determined that the headlights on Sprague’s Chrysler 300 were not illuminated when she crashed head-on into a Nissan Sentra being driven by Kayla Bowen, 17, also of Pemberton Township, the prosecutor said. Bowen was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation further determined that Sprague had been consuming alcohol prior to the crash at the Country Lakes Pub and Grill, and reached a speed exceeding 90 mph prior to the collision, Bradshaw said. Her blood alcohol concentration following the crash was .188, more than twice the legal limit, she said.
Sprague told the court when she pleaded guilty that she had no recollection of the collision. She has had several surgeries and appeared Wednesday, Feb. 15 for sentencing in a wheelchair.
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