The Salisbury man police have determined was driving the car in a crash that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old Huntersville woman in January has officially been charged with her death, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

John Paul Beinkampen, 24, was charged Oct. 14 with felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired, felony flee to elude, failure to yield for law, fire, rescue or ambulance vehicle, speeding more than 15 mph over the limit, aggressive driving, failure to comply with limitations, no insurance, failure to wear seatbelt (driver), failure to maintain lane control and unsafe passing of yellow line.

Kimberly Anita Lynn Nesslage, who was 23 at the time of the accident but who would have turned 24 on April 21, was killed in the crash. Beinkampen sustained serious injuries.

According to reports at the time, N.C. State Highway Patrol initially received a call about a single car accident with a car in a ditch on Wilcoy Road. However, by the time the trooper spotted the Mustang not long after 9 p.m., it was back on the road traveling down Red Road. The trooper activated lights and sirens when the car appeared unable to maintain the proper lane but the driver turned onto U.S. Hwy 52 north and sped up, reaching more than 100 mph, according to records.

Bienkampen allegedly tried to pass a Honda near the intersection of St. Lukes Church Road, but ended up clipping the corner of the car. As a result, he lost control of the Mustang, running off the right side of the roadway and hitting the brick and concrete sign at East Rowan High School. The Mustang overturned, ejecting Bienkampen. Nesslage was still in the vehicle, according to the crash report. Her time of death was reported as 9:21 p.m.

Carter Nesslage, who had been married to Kim Nesslage since 2016, said the two were separated at the time of Nesslage’s death, but he said that did not make her loss any easier, as the two have a one-year-old daughter, Everleigh.

“Kim made some mistakes, but she had an incredibly kind heart,” Carter said. “She’d give you the shoes off her feet if you needed them. And she was a stable, nurturing and kind mother, and would have taken anyone’s breath away.” Carter said he was aware that his wife had been through some battles, but the night of the crash, he believed she was “coming home and was going to get help, but he robbed her of that chance.”

Carter said Nesslage had become involved with Beinkampen after they separated, and said her relationship with Beinkampen was “not good for her,” adding that the night of the accident she had texted him after the car went into the ditch saying Beinkampen was yelling at her and she was frightened.

“I was on the phone with her when they crashed,” he added. “I didn’t understand what I was hearing at the time. I heard her yell ‘stop’ and then heard static and I thought he’d just grabbed the phone and thrown it.” He tried calling her back but it just went to voicemail. It was close to 1 a.m. when he received notification of what had actually happened.

He said he has “already forgiven” Beinkampen, because “I couldn’t hold on to that hate. I do want him to own up to what he has done, for once. I want Kim to have some semblance of justice.”

Police reports say Nesslage was from Huntersville, but Carter said she had used Beinkampen’s address for her ID since that was where she was getting mail. He said they had been in Lexington for a while, but he recently returned to Salisbury and “this is where we lived most of our time together, so she was a Salisbury resident.”

Carter said he and his current girlfriend work every day to keep Kim’s memory alive for her daughter, and one day, he said he hopes to fulfill the dream Nesslage had. “She wanted, when our daughter turns 14 or 15, to buy a small used truck and for them to restore it together. I hope I can make that happen.”

Beinkampen was arraigned on all charges Wednesday morning and remains in custody on a $250,000 bond.