Woman sentenced to jail for 2017 fatal South Thomaston crash
ROCKLAND — A South Thomaston woman who was initially arrested for manslaughter in connection with a May 2017 crash that killed one of her passengers will serve one year in jail.
Kelsey Campbell, 21, was sentenced April 5 in Knox County Unified Court for aggravated criminal operating under the influence and operating beyond license condition or restriction. She was also fined $2,100, her driver’s license is suspended for 10 years and she will serve three years of probation following her release from jail.
The manslaughter charge was dismissed last year as part of a plea agreement.
Campbell’s full sentence includes seven years in prison with all but one year suspended for the crash that killed Zachary Elwell, 21, of St. George.
She will report to jail April 12.
In a recent letter to the state, Campbell requested that they consider amending the actual jail time served in her deferred sentence to nine months and one day.
“I feel as though a shorter sentence will also acknowledge the goal of rehabilitation and my improvements that I have made and continue to make through my every day choices,” according to Campbell’s letter filed in the court affidavit.
In April 2018, Justice Bruce Mallonee accepted an agreement reached between the state and attorney that Campbell would not serve more than one year in jail if she followed the terms of the agreement for one year.
She had pleaded no contest in April 2018.
A no contest plea bargain means that the defendant does not want to admit guilt, but accepts the sentence recommended by the prosecutor for not contesting the charge, which is often reduced to a lesser crime.
The terms of the agreement for the next year included that Campbell cannot commit another crime, use alcohol or take drugs, and undergo counseling for substance abuse.
If Campbell met the terms, then she would be sentenced to seven years in prison with a suspended sentence of one year in jail, pay a $2,100 fine and lose her license for 10 years for the aggravated criminal operating under the influence charge. She would serve a concurrent sentence of six months for the operating beyond license condition or restriction charge.
According to the affidavit filed in court by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a motor vehicle accident on Route 131 (St. George Road) involving a single vehicle, driven by Campbell. Police reported that the vehicle, a 2004 Subaru Outback, went off the road, struck a rock wall and several trees and then landed on its roof.
Elwell was thrown from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene from head trauma.
A blood test was administered soon after the crash and Campbell allegedly had a blood alcohol level of 0.21, more than twice the legal limit, the affidavit states.
Police interviewed two witnesses who said that prior to the crash, the Subaru Outback passed them on Route 131 while traveling at a high rate of speed, according to court documents.
One witness said that after the vehicle passed him, he saw smoke coming from the side of the road and discovered the crash.
Following the crash, Campbell and another passenger were treated for minor injuries at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
Campbell made her initial court appearance Jan. 10, 2018, in Knox County Unified Court. Judge Susan Sparaco set Campbell’s bail at $2,500 cash at the hearing.
She did not enter a plea at the hearing because the two charges of manslaughter and criminal operating under the influence are felonies and the case had to be presented to the grand jury.
Related stories:
http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/st-george-man-killed-south-thomaston-crash/86820
https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/woman-charged-manslaughter-oui-fatal-south-thomaston-crash/96772
Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com
