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NJ Woman Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Senior

WOODBURY, N.J. (AP) — A southern New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to death by auto charges in a car crash that killed a senior last year.

Authorities said 40-year-old Toni Lee Coleman, of Swedesboro, had a blood alcohol content of .18 when she ran a red light in Mantua on April 27, 2014.

Her car hit the passenger side of a Buick driven by 74-year-old John Steponick, of Tabernacle. He suffered a laceration to his hand but his wife, 74-year-old Katharine Steponick, died of her injuries after the crash.

Coleman entered the plea agreement Monday. Prosecutors will recommend that she serve five years in state prison for second-degree vehicular homicide, with a concurrent 18-month sentence for assault by auto.

She will be barred from driving for five years after her release.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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