A 29-year-old woman was charged Monday with being under the influence of morphine and Oxycontin when she veered over the center line, struck and killed an 81-year-old driver in Burlington County earlier this year.
Shannon Sidorek of the unit block of W Hampton Street in Pemberton Township was arrested Friday for her alleged role in the afternoon head-on crash that killed Elizabeth Smith on Feb. 28, according to a press release put out Monday by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.
Sidorek was charged with being under the influence of narcotics and causing the death of another motorist, prosecutors said.
Authorities say Smith and Sidorek were both alone in their cars when Sidorek crossed over the center line of the Pemberton Bypass (County Route 530) around 3:30 p.m. Smith, who was from Moorestown, died while Sidorek had to be extracted from her 1997 Acura and medevaced to the hospital.
Forensic tests of blood drawn from Sidorek while hospitalized showed that she was under the influence of morphine and Oxycontin at the time of the wreck, prosecutors said.
Bail was set at 10 percent of $100,000 when Sidorek appeared in Superior Court Monday, prosecutors said.
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