Pottstown man sentenced in homicide by vehicle

POTTSTOWN A 19-year-old Pottstown resident was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Judge Steven T. O'Neill sentenced Justin M. Jackson to three to 10 years in prison in connection with an accident in which Jackson's car struck and killed Merinda Thompson last year.

Thompson, 40, was jogging on North Lewis Road, in Limerick Township's Royersford section on March 4, 2013. Jackson, who was under the influence of marijuana, was driving in the opposite lane when his car veered and struck the mother of two young children, said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Jason Whalley.

Jackson was charged with felony homicide by vehicle and other counts, and pleaded guilty last November, according to court records.

At Friday's sentencing, the victim's father described the anguish he has felt since his daughter's death.

- Carolyn Davis