A man who killed three women and two children in a drunken driving crash and failed to appear for a sentencing hearing was sentenced to the maximum 50 years in prison Friday, 10 years for each life taken.
Kenneth Kelley caused the 2014 crash in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that killed sisters Tameika Curtis, 34, and Typhani Wilkerson, 32, and young siblings Hassan Boykin, 1, and Khadiua Ba, 13. Dominique Green, 21, who was a passenger in Kelley's car, also was killed in the crash. Curtis was a mother of eight; Wilkerson had two toddlers.
Kelley was driving more than 50-70 mph in a 35 mph zone when he crashed his Mercedes into an Acura stopped at Livingston Road and Livingston Terrace about 9:40 p.m. Oct. 10, 2014, police said.
The 1-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl inside were rushed to a hospital, where they died.
Only Kelley and the children's mother, Haddassah Belle Boykin, survived the crash. She had been driving the Acura.
"It's difficult to describe the devastation in this case," she said.
The children's grandmother, Fay Everston-Berry, said she hasn't celebrated her birthday since the crash.
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Kelley was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was 0.14, almost twice the legal limit in Maryland.
"I can't even imagine what you are going through since October 2014," Kelley said before he was sentenced. "I wish it was my life and not your family's."
Kelley pleaded guilty in March to all 28 charges, including five counts of negligent manslaughter.
A judge released Kelley on $100,000 bond after his plea, though the state's attorney's office had argued to keep him in jail.
Though he was supposed to be wearing GPS monitoring, he failed to show for a sentencing hearing in May, prompting a manhunt. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and wanted posters were distributed in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Police received an anonymous tip he was seen at a hotel on Allentown Road in Suitland. He was found in a room there about 8:30 p.m. May 16. Authorities had reason to believe Kelley was planning to leave the D.C. area.
