A D.C. man has been charged with several counts of negligent manslaughter nearly a year after a violent crash claimed the lives of five people -- including two mothers of 10 children -- in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Kenneth Kelley was traveling more than 70 mph when he slammed into the victims' car at a red light on Oct. 10, Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said Wednesday. Kelley has been charged with five counts of negligent manslaughter, driving under the influence and other traffic offenses.
Alsobrooks said Kelley's blood alcohol content was 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit in Maryland.
Among the victims were two sisters, Typhani Wilkerson, 32, and Tameika Curtis, 34, who left behind 10 children between them. Wilkerson had two toddlers. Curtis was a mother of eight, the youngest just six weeks old at the time of the 2014 crash.
"We're talking about 10 kids without mothers," family member Lloyd Hardy said. "Ten. I mean, that's absolutely devastating."
Of the five people inside the car, only the driver, Haddassah Boykin, survived. Her two children, 1-year-old Hassan Boykin and 13-year-old Khadiua Ba, were rushed to a hospital, but died of their injuries. Another female passenger, Dominique Green, 21, also was killed in the crash.
Tameika Curtis' 16-year-old daughter Jazmyne Curtis said Wednesday that she was glad Kelley's case is advancing.
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"I just hope he thinks about what he did and apologizes to my family," she said.
The women had just done the kids' laundry and picked up a carpet cleaner from Home Depot before heading toward their homes in Southeast D.C., travelling in an Acura driven by close family friend Haddassah Boykin.
Prince George's County Police say the Acura was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Livingston Road and Livingston Terrace when Kelley's Mercedes rear-ended the car and slammed it into a pole across the intersection.
"I just felt like I was in a nightmare," Boykin said. "I wish I would have died, too. My daughter was in the backseat, singing some silly song. We were all laughing. Next thing I know, I saw cracks in the windshield. We never knew what hit us."
Kelley is being represented by the Prince George's County public defender's office, which had no comment on the case. He was indicted in May but the sheriff's office did not serve a warrant for his arrest until Aug. 31. Kelley was arrested when he met with his probation officer.
He's being held on $500,000 bond.
