Kailyn Gorga (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
An 18-year-old Toms River woman had been formally charged with vehicular homicide following the completion of an investigation of an accident that killed a fellow 18-year-old woman from Brick Township and injured another Brick resident.
Kailyn Gorga, 18, of Toms River, was charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto in connection with a motor vehicle crash that occurred in the early morning hours of April 14, 2024, in Manchester Township, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday. The charges were filed May 31.
According to prosecutors, at approximately 2:50 a.m., Manchester police officers were called to the area of Lacey Road in Whiting for a report of a one-car motor vehicle crash. An investigation by responding officers revealed that a 2008 Mazda 3 – operated by Gorga – and containing rear-seat passengers John Winkowski, 19, and Catalina Reinoso, 18, both of Brick Township, as well as three additional passengers – was traveling southbound on Lacey Road when it struck a center curbed median and overturned.
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As a result of the crash, Reinoso was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of her injuries. Winkowski was likewise taken to JSUMC for treatment of his injuries and thereafter released. The remaining occupants of the vehicle were also treated at JSUMC for minor injuries and subsequently released.
Reinoso, however, succumbed to her injuries April 19.
Following the crash, a draw of Gorga’s blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant. Prosecutors said in a statement that laboratory results of the initial blood draw taken from Gorga at the hospital revealed her blood alcohol concentration to be .099, above the .08 legal limit. The laboratory results further are alleged to have revealed that Gorga had an active THC (marijuana) level of 4 nanograms (ng) with a metabolite THC level of 47 ng.
Gorga surrendered herself to Manchester Township Police Headquarters in the presence of her attorney on May 31, and was charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto. She was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where she is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
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