NJ driver pleads guilty in crash that killed Catalina Reinoso

Kailyn Gorga has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of Catalina Reinoso (Ocean County Jail/Ryan Funeral Home)

⚠️ A Toms River woman admitted causing a crash that killed her 18-year-old passenger in 2024.

➡️ Prosecutors say her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit and THC was also detected.

🔴 She faces sentencing in October, when prosecutors will seek a seven-year prison term.

MANCHESTER — A young woman faces seven years in state prison for a tragic crash that killed her 18-year-old passenger.

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Kailyn Gorga, 20, of Toms River pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and assault by auto in Superior Court in Ocean County on Friday. It comes more than two years after a one-car crash in Manchester.

Her sentencing is currently scheduled for Oct. 23, 2026. County prosecutors said they will seek a prison term of seven years.

Kailyn Gorga in a 2024 booking photo (Ocean County Jail)

Investigators say alcohol and THC were factors in the crash

Investigators found that Gorga, then 18 years old, was driving a Mazda 3 sedan south on Lacey Road around 2:50 a.m. on Sunday, April 14, 2024. She had five fellow young adults with her riding as passengers. The car struck a median, and she overcorrected. The vehicle flipped, struck an emergency services sign, and ended up overturned.

Gorga was hospitalized, where a blood draw was conducted. According to prosecutors, she had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.099% and an Active THC level of 4 nanograms with a Metabolite THC level of 47 ng.

Catalina Reinoso died five days after the crash

Catalina Reinoso, 18, was one of four passengers in the backseat. She was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

Reinoso was dead at the scene of the crash for 17 minutes before she was resuscitated, according to a GoFundMe created by a family friend. She suffered several seizures and was held on life support for five days.

At 2:19 p.m. on April 19, 2024, Reinoso was declared brain dead. Her sister, Victoria Reinoso, said she was pulled off life support and her organs were donated to save nine other lives.

"Catalina was always kind and generous with everyone. She was liked by all who knew her. She was a happy, friendly girl who loved music, pets and being with her friends, her longtime boyfriend, Coty and her family," Reinoso's obituary said.

According to her obituary, Reinoso was born in Lakewood and was raised in Brick. In 2023, she graduated from Brick Township High School. She worked at the Marshalls in Brick at the time of the crash. Reinoso was survived by her father, mother, three grandparents, four siblings, stepmother, and three stepbrothers.

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