ELIZABETH - A Newark man has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison in connection with a high speed 2021 Garden State Parkway crash in Clark in which an East Orange man was killed.
Rolando Godwin, 47, was sentenced July 19 by Union County Superior Court Judge Candido Rodriguez Jr. Goldwin must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Godwin's drivers license also will be suspended for eight years.
Godwin pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree crime, in connection with the death of Christopher Meikle, 46, of East Orange.
Meikle was injured in the crash just before 2:45 a.m. Feb. 15, 2021 in the area of Mile Marker 136 in the southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway.
New Jersey State Police found Meikle’s vehicle, a Lexus, engulfed in flames near the highway’s median, as well as Godwin’s vehicle, a Range Rover, which had overturned on the shoulder. A police investigation indicated Godwin's vehicle struck Meikle from behind, causing the collision, the prosecutor's office initially reported.
The investigation also revealed Godwin was intoxicated and traveling at a speed of 114 mph on the southbound portion of the highway, according to the prosecutor's office.
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When a Good Samaritan pulled over to offer help, Godwin allegedly asked to be driven away from the scene and indicated he was willing to offer an unspecified reward for that service, the prosecutor's office said.
Meikle was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway, where he was pronounced dead around 3:35 a.m., while Godwin was transported to University Hospital in Newark for emergency treatment and later released to the Union County Jail.
Meikle, was a native of Jamaica, came to the U.S. in 2009 and moved to New Jersey in 2011 and was working for Amazon at the time of his death, according to his obituary. He was a husband and father of three children.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ man gets 12 years in prison for fatal high speed, DWI on Garden State Parkway
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