Omara gets light sentence for killing two in fiery DUI crash
CENTREVILLE, MD. — Kaitlin Ashley Omara was sentenced on Jan. 13, 2015 to three years in jail for killing a motorcyclist and his passenger while she drove under the influence in a blazing crash in 2013.
Queen Anne County States Attorney Lance Richardson reported that on September 17, 2014 Kaitlin Ashley Omara of 439 Barnes Ave., Westminster, Maryland entered a plea of guilty to two counts of Negligent Homicide while under the influence of alcohol.
Richardson stated that her plea comes as the result of an August 11, 2013 fiery collision in which Omara’s Nissan passenger vehicle crossed the centerline at the base of the Rt. 18 Kent Narrows Draw-Bridge colliding head-on with a motorcycle.
The impact of the crash caused the motorcycle to burst into flames and killed both the driver and passenger. Richardson said that Omara’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at an amazing 0.25 BAC. Perry Cornelius Hunter, of Columbia, Md., and his passenger, Levonne Frances Garvin St. Clair, of Gwynn Oak, Md., were identified as the motorcycle driver and his passenger. Garvin St. Clair died that day and Hunter died on Oct. 4, 2013 from his injuries after months of suffering.
Omara faced ten years in prison but her plea deal resulted in the more lenient sentence, along with five years on probation.
States Attorney Richardson personally prosecuted the case.
On June 6, 2012, Omara was cited for speeding at 74 mph in a 65 mile zone by Trooper G. W. Vonstein of the McHenry Barrack in Garrett County, Md. It was quite likely that she was going faster than she was ticketed for as police officers will often cite a driver for doing nine miles over the limit and thereby minimize the points and fine to be paid. Omara entered a guilty plea in District Court and was fined $80.
Omara was represented in the Queen Anne’s County case by noted criminal defense attorney Stephanie A. Shipley of Easton, Md., and by Charles O. Fisher Jr. of Westminster.
In an unusual move, adding more to the remarkable leniency shown Omara in this case is that she won’t be sent to the state prison system.
Richardson noted in a statement that Omara will serve the three years in the local Queen Anne’s County jail rather than the state prison. Generally, those sentenced to more than eighteen months in prison are sent to the state prison rather than retained as a local prisoner.
(Crash scene photo courtesy of Grasonville Fire Company)