Drunken Driver Pleads Guilty in Fatal Deptford Crash

A drunk driver blamed for a southern New Jersey crash that killed a man and left two other people injured last year has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and assault by auto charges.

Twenty-six-year-old Rene Berben of Deptford Township faces a six-year state prison term when he's sentenced July 13. He entered the pleas Monday after reaching a deal with Gloucester County prosecutors.

Berben was driving northbound on Route 41 in Deptford when he crashed into a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Steven Kennedy of Runnemede. Kennedy was trapped inside his car and pronounced dead at the scene, while two passengers in his car were injured.

Prosecutors say Berben was in the Army at the time of the March 19 crash, but is now in the process of being discharged.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)