18-year-old driver was drunk and high in crash that killed teenage passenger, cops say

An 18-year-old New Jersey driver was drunk and drugged during an early spring crash in Manchester that killed one of her five passengers, authorities say.

Kailyn Gorga, of Toms River, was charged last week with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Gorga was driving south on Lacey Road in Manchester's Whiting neighborhood around 2:50 a.m. April 14 when she hit a curb along the median and her car overturned, officials said .

Rear seat passenger Catalina Reinoso, 18, of Brick, was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where she died of her injuries five days later. A 19-year-old Brick man, also in the back seat, was treated and released after suffering injuries.

The other three passengers were treated for minor injuries.

Goga had a blood alcohol level of 0.99, above the legal limit of 0.08, the prosecutor's office said. She also had marijuana in her system, authorities said.

Gorga is being held at the Ocean County Jail. His attorney, Terrance L. Turnbach, expressed his condolences to the families.

“As criminal charges have been filed in this case, I have asked my client not to make any statements regarding the facts of this case,” Turnbach said in an emailed statement. “I will however state that the thoughts and prayers of the Gorga family are with all the families involved in this tragic accident.”

Reinoso was a 2023 graduate of Brick Township High School and worked at Marshalls in Brick.

She was a fun-loving person who shined at her extended family's frequent gatherings and who adored her young nieces and nephews, family members told NJ Advance Media. She had four siblings and three half-brothers.

“He was always a good time and a very caring and loving person,” his sister Valentina Reinoso said Tuesday.

His death gave life or hope to nine people through organ donation, Valentina and her friend David Uriarte said. He created a GoFundMe page before his death to help pay for his medical expenses.

Uriarte reported his death on the page, which raised more than $18,000. Valentina said she hopes to hear from people in the future whose organs were saved or helped.

That night, Catalina was with a longtime friend, the 19-year-old who was injured, Valentina said. The others were new friends.

The sister warned against drinking and driving, something young people often don't think about at the time.

“Life is short, let’s cherish it,” she said.

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Jeff Goldman can be contacted at [email protected].