Driver sentenced for drug-related crash that killed teens

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – A New Jersey driver who was speeding and high on PCP when his car went over a curb and fatally struck two teenagers on a sidewalk has been sentenced to 29 years in prison.

Eric Paterson received separate 12-year sentences for vehicular homicide in the March 2016 deaths of Bryan Rodriguez and Noel Herrera, both 17. The 25-year-old Jersey City man also received a five-year sentence for aggravated assault on 17-year-old Manuel Sanchez, who was critically injured in the accident, but has since recovered.

The three sentences imposed Friday must be served concurrently.

Hudson County authorities have said Patterson was driving 74 mph (119 kph) in a 25 mph (40 kph) zone when his car went over a curb and hit the teens on a sidewalk in North Bergen.