A South Jersey man who was driving 112 mph seconds before slamming into another vehicle and killing a woman was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison.
Stephen Karwowski, 34, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in June. Judge Michael Silvanio followed the recommended sentence in his plea deal.
Genita Townsend, 52, was killed in the Dec. 4, 2021, crash in Pennsville, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia. She was picking up food for her family when Karwowski struck her, investigators said.
“We were advised not to come here because it’s not gonna change anything,” one of Townsend’s five children, Sheila Williams, said at the sentencing hearing, according to NJ.com. “It’s not gonna send back our mother. But I also wanted to see the man who took my mom away from us.”
Karwowski told police he had two beers and a shot of liquor before getting behind the wheel of his pickup truck on the day of the crash. His blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.12%, above the legal limit of 0.08%.
Karwowski was driving on South Broadway near Corson Ave. in Pennsville, police said. According to his car’s data recorder, he was traveling 112 mph just three seconds before making impact with Townsend’s car. His speed at the moment of the crash was recorded as 70 mph.
“Although there will never be enough words to help to lessen the pain of losing your loved one, I want you to know how truly sorry I am,” Karwowski said at Monday’s hearing, according to NJ.com. “I’ll never go back to the person I was the night of the accident.”
