Intoxicated Driver Killed 2 Passengers While Speeding In New Jersey, Prosecutors Say

NEWARK, NJ — An intoxicated driver who killed two of his passengers while speeding near a school in Newark was sentenced to life in prison, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Shaquan Wiley, 39, was behind the wheel during a double vehicular homicide that took place in 2020, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutors said Wiley was intoxicated while driving at a high rate of speed near a school in Newark on Jan. 25, 2020. Wiley eventually lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. Two of his passengers, Tahtiyanah Green, 17, and Imani Exum, 21, were killed instantly. Two other passengers, Michael Kirk, 37, and Shikeyah Hamlin, 21, sustained life-threatening injuries.

A jury convicted Wiley on eight related counts on Feb. 24, including two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide, two counts of aggravated assault by auto and other offenses.

Wiley has been sentenced to life in New Jersey state prison, authorities said.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the life sentence – rare in vehicular cases – was imposed due to the excessive speed, intoxication and Wiley’s “extensive criminal history,” including a 2005 manslaughter conviction for fatally striking a pedestrian while driving recklessly.

Under the terms of the No Early Release Act, Wiley must serve 63 years and 9 months before he is eligible for parole, prosecutors said.

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