Woman convicted of crash that killed 5 kids gets 18 years

A Maryland woman convicted of killing six passengers, five of them children, in a drunk driving crash has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Dominique R. Taylor, 33, pleaded guilty in September to six counts of motor vehicle manslaughter. She faced a sentence of up to 30 years, but bypassed a trial and was instead handed a prison term about a dozen years lighter Friday, The Washington Post reported.

Taylor had twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system when she left a house party after 4 a.m. on Feb. 2, 2019, with five children and one adult passenger in tow, according to Maryland State Police.

She lost control of her SUV along Route 301 and swerved into trees, tossing the five kids - two of her own and three of her cousin's children - into a snowy field, prosecutors said.

The kids ranged in age from 5 to 15 years old and weren't wearing seat belts at the time, law enforcement and prosecutors have said. They all died at the scene, and the adult passenger later died from injuries.

Prince George’s County Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Rush told the judge Friday that first responders to the deadly crash have since battled post traumatic stress disorder, according to an account from The Post.
"They all, even the 20-year veterans, described this as the worst scene of their careers,” she said. "When we were talking with them, we could see them replaying it in their minds.”

Taylor repeatedly apologized to those gathered in the courtroom, which included many of her own relatives, before telling the judge: "I don’t even deserve" to be alive.

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