South Jersey man gets 8 years in fatal crash

A Tabernacle man who was driving drunk and speeding when he fatally struck a 19-year-old motorist was sentenced today to eight years in prison.

Thomas Thorn Jr., 22, previously pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and causing a death while driving with a suspended license when he broadsided a car driven by Shawn English, who was driving to his home a mile away last May.

Thorn was speeding west on Route 70 in Evesham and went through a red light at Maple Avenue, where English was going north.

At sentencing, where Thorn apologized to the English family, the judge also revoked Thorn's driver's license for life.

It was the second time, authorities noted, that Thorn had been driving under the influence. Toxicology results showed Thorn had a blood-alcohol level of 0.179 percent, more than twice the legal definition of drunken driving, when he struck English.

Thorn was sentenced in Superior Court in Burlington County.