NJ drunk driver sentenced in deadly Parkway crash

FREEHOLD, N.J. - June 16, 2012 (WPVI) -- A drunk driver who caused a deadly 3-vehicle crash on the Garden State Parkway last year has been sentenced to seven years in state prison.

Twenty-two-year-old Eric Pereira of Jackson must serve nearly six years of the sentence imposed Friday before becoming eligible for parole.

Pereira pleaded guilty in March to three counts of assault by auto in a plea deal with Monmouth County prosecutors.

Authorities say Pereira was southbound and speeding in the local lanes when his car rear-ended a van near milemarker 120 in Aberdeen Township. The van struck a guardrail and overturned before skidding into the express lanes, where it struck another southbound vehicle.

The van's driver, 43-year-old Kevin Donnelly of Middletown, was killed. His two passengers and the driver of the third vehicle were injured.

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new jersey, monmouth county, accident, DUI, local/state

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