Teresa Verbout is accused of killing Robert J. Hunter, 22, of Flanders, in a wrong-way crash on Route 15 in December.
SPARTA -- The woman who was indicted for allegedly causing a wrong-way crash in Sparta that killed a 22-year-old man this past December pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of manslaughter and death by auto, New Jersey Herald reported.
Robert "Jamie" Hunter IIITeresa Verbout, 51, of Sparta, has been offered a plea deal that would have her plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and be sentenced to 15 years in state prison, of which she'd have to serve 85 percent before becoming eligible for parole, the newspaper reported.
As reported by NJ Advance Media, Verbout is accused of killing Robert J. Hunter III, 22, of the Flanders section of Mount Olive, on Dec. 8 in a DWI crash. Authorities say Verbout was heading northbound on Route 15 south in her 2014 Jeep Cherokee at about 11:06 p.m. when she nearly struck a police officer's vehicle.
The officer took evasive action and avoided crashing into the Jeep, police said. He then turned around into the northbound lanes in order to pursue the vehicle and try to stop it, police said.
Verbout's Jeep continued traveling the wrong way in the southbound lanes, and, before police could catch up, her Jeep struck a 1998 Toyota Corolla head-on, police said.
Hunter, known as "Bear" to his friends, was the driver of the Corolla. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Sussex County Prosecutor's Office has said Verbout was driving in excess of 75 miles per hour at the time of the crash and her blood alcohol content was "well above" the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Verbout, who is currently being held in the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility, is expected to be arraigned on the charges in the next two weeks.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
