Texas Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter in Connection With Fatal Crash

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Kamel Hay, 26, of Houston, Texas, to two years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for involuntary manslaughter. The sentence is in connection with a fatal car crash on the Baltimore-Washington (BW) Parkway, resulting in the death of a 33-year-old man. 

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Chief Scott Brecht, United States Park Police (USPP).

On February 5, 2022, Hay was driving his vehicle northbound on the BW Parkway at a high rate of speed as he wove through traffic.  Eventually, Hay lost control of his car, striking two other vehicles, before his car left the roadway and struck a tree.  His front-seat passenger (Victim 1), who was wearing a seatbelt, died after Hay’s car stuck the tree.  An autopsy performed by Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Victim 1’s cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in the crash.

First responders transported Hay to Capital Region Medical Center, where he told an USPP officer that he was drinking at the Cuba Libre night club in Washington, D.C. After taking Hay’s blood sample, the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner analyzed it and determined it was positive for an alcohol level of 0.12 milligrams; Hay was therefore under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, so it was unsafe for him to operate a motor vehicle.

USPP subsequently examined the car’s event data recorder, which revealed that Hay traveled 117 mph in a 55-mph zone shortly before the crash, with almost no use of the vehicle’s brakes.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the USPP for its work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Nazmy and Joshua Rosenthal who prosecuted this federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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