Middletown Woman Charged With DUI In Death Of Her Friend

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A 20-year-old woman from Middletown has now been charged with driving while intoxicated, and police say her alleged drinking caused the fatal Nov. 26 Parkway crash that killed her friend, Nicole Smith, 18, also of Middletown. A third young woman from Middletown was in the car with them, as well, and she was seriously injured.

Kimberly Franklin, 20, of Middletown was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated manslaughter in the first degree and assault by auto in the third degree. She was also issued motor vehicle summonses for driving while intoxicated, reckless and careless driving and failure to maintain lane, the Middlesex County prosecutor said.

The tragic accident resulted in Smith's death, and caused another passenger, Isabella Rosales, 20, also of Middletown, to be seriously injured. Franklin was seriously injured in the crash as well, but both she and Rosales survived.

The accident happened at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 26: Franklin was driving a 2018 Dodge Charger southbound on the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge Twp. when she rear ended a 2009 Nissan Rogue, police said. The Dodge proceeded to strike a guard rail and tree, and then overturned, causing her two passengers, Rosales and Smith, to be ejected from the vehicle.

Rosales and Franklin were both rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center in New Brunswick with serious injuries. However, Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

Smith is from the Belford section of Middletown; she had just graduated from Middletown High School North this past June, according to her obituary. She had been very active in the Middletown Pop Warner cheerleader program for many years and traveled all over for cheer competitions, her obituary read. Smith was predeceased by both her parents, Christine Medvar and Michael Smith, and was living with her maternal grandparents, Francis and Linda Medvar.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's office has now taken over the investigation.

Franklin is scheduled for her initial appearance in New Brunswick Superior Court Thursday, Dec. 6.

A third vehicle, a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, was involved in the crash, but only minorly: It struck a tire that had become detached from the Dodge Charger. The drivers of the Nissan and the Hyundai were not injured in the crash.

Past Patch reporting of this crash on Nov. 26, 2018:

Middletown Woman, 18, Killed In Parkway Crash Monday

Fatal Accident On Garden State Parkway In Woodbridge: Police

Photo from the scene courtesy of RLS Metro