A New Jersey man who was drunk, high and speeding when he caused a crash that killed another driver in Plumsted in 2023 has been sentenced to five years in state prison.
John Zinkoski, 43, of Beachwood will have to serve at least 85% of the sentence — or four years, three months — before he is eligible for parole, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said. His driver’s license will also be suspended for seven months after he pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated.
Zinkoski pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide on April 14.
The crash occurred on May 12, 2023, in the area of Pinehurst Road and Long Swamp Road. Judi Smith, 59, of Browns Mills, was critically injured when she was trying to make a right turn onto Pinehurst Road at 5:50 p.m. Her car was hit by Zinkoski’s southbound pickup truck. Smith later died of her injuries, officials said
Zinkoski was treated and released from at a different hospital. He had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit of .08, prosecutors said. The exact amount was not disclosed.
An investigation showed Zinkoski traveling 86 mph and tests revealed the presence of cocaine and benzodiazepine in his blood at the time of the crash. Valium and Xanax are well-known examples of benzodiazepine.
Zinkoski was charged Aug. 8, 2023 with vehicular homicide and strict liability vehicular homicide.
He turned himself in to authorities two weeks later.
“Mr. Zinkoski was visiting family out of the state of New Jersey at the point in time when the charges were authorized,” his attorney Terrence Turnbach said in a statement emailed to NJ Advance Media in August 2023. “Upon learning of the charges against him, Mr. Zinkoski returned to New Jersey, retained counsel and presented himself to the Ocean County courthouse to properly address the charges.”
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].
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