Jacob Garrett, who left girlfriend to die in submerged car, gets 15-year prison term
Jim Walsh
MOUNT HOLLY – A man who left his girlfriend to die in a submerged car has received a 15-year prison term — and a measure of sympathy from the victim’s family.
Jacob T. Garrett, 25, was driving at more than twice the legal limit for intoxication when his car sped off a Burlington City road and into the Delaware River in January, authorities said.
Garrett escaped from his partially submerged vehicle but left 23-year-old Stephanie White in the ice-covered river, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
At an emotional hearing Thursday, Garrett told White’s family he would have died trying to save her, if he had been sober, the prosecutor’s office said.
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“I didn’t leave because I was scared of the consequences,” Garrett said, according to the account. “I left because there was no way in hell I could accept what was happening.”
Members of White’s family who addressed the court “said they believe that Garrett
loved her, and they do not hate him for his actions,” the prosecutor’s office recounted.
Superior Court Judge Terrence Cook said he believed Garrett is remorseful.
“But you were drunk out of your mind when you were driving,” the judge said, according to the prosecutor's account.
“Your conduct caused the death of Stephanie White," the judge said.
Garrett, who said he’d been drinking Fireball whiskey before the accident, had a blood alcohol level of .17 percent four hours after the crash, the prosecutor’s office said.
The legal limit is .08 percent.
“This was a senseless death, made even more tragic by the defendant’s selfish attempt to escape justice,” Prosecutor Scott Coffina said after the hearing.
Garrett’s vehicle struck a parked minivan before crashing through a fence and into the river off Riverbank Road near Wood Street, the prosecutor’s office said.
“The front end of the car broke through the ice and became submerged,” it said.
Witnesses said Garrett emerged from the river and told witnesses to "help my girlfriend,” before fleeing on foot.
White, found with her seat belt still fastened, was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
A Burlington City K-9 team followed Garrett’s path to a nearby RiverLine station. He was arrested when authorities stopped a train a short time later.
Garrett admitted guilt to vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
He must serve almost 13 years before parole eligibility. Cook also ordered him to reimburse White’s family for her funeral and burial expenses.
Jim Walsh: @jimwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com
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