Man Admits Driving Drunk, Speeding In Crash That Killed NJ Restaurant Owner

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ — A man admitted to driving more than 120 miles per hour and having a blood alcohol concentration more than three times the legal limit in a 2022 crash that killed a local restaurant owner.

Desmond Newberry, 45, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter on Feb. 16 in connection with the September crash that killed Glenn Keen. Officials said he has also pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated on two previous occasions. Related article — Driver Was Drunk, Going 120 MPH In Fatal Mt. Laurel Crash: Officials

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said Newberry pleaded guilty in exchange for a 13-year sentence in New Jersey state prison. He will be sentenced April 19, Bradshaw said.

Officials said Newberry had a blood alcohol concentration of .256 and was going 126 miles per hour when he hit Keen on September 3, 2022.

Keen was pulling out of the parking lot of Cucina Carini, which he owned, when Newberry hit him, police said. Read more: Crash That Killed Mt. Laurel Business Owner Still Under Investigation

Witnesses pulled Keen from his burning vehicle before police arrived, officials said. First responders airlifted him to Temple University Hospital where he later died at the age of 52, according to Bradshaw.

Keen had opened the Mount Laurel restaurant Cucina Carini in 1995 with his wife, according to an online obituary. He was born in Camden and graduated from Lenape High School in 1988.