Pemberton Twp. Woman Sentenced for Fatal Collision that Killed Teen Driver

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By Press release submission

Feb 19, 2023

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a 55-year-old Pemberton Township woman was sentenced yesterday to eight years in New Jersey state prison for driving while impaired and causing the death of a teenage motorist in late 2021 during a head-on collision that occurred after she had been drinking at a Browns Mills bar.

Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Wanda Sprague pled guilty in September to one count of Aggravated Manslaughter. She was sentenced as a second-degree offender in Superior Court in Mount Holly by the Hon. Philip E. Haines, J.S.C.

The investigation began December 16, 2021 after officers from the Pemberton Township Police Department were dispatched to the area of 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. 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. Her blood alcohol concentration following the crash was .188, more than twice the legal limit.

Sprague told the court when she pled guilty that she had no recollection of the collision. She has had several surgeries and appeared yesterday for sentencing in a wheelchair.

Sprague was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit. The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Pemberton Township Police Department, with assistance from the New Jersey State Police. The lead investigators were BCPO Detective Sergeant Brian Cunningham and Melyssa Alonso, and PTPD Detective Joshua Mann.