Manslaughter charge tossed

A charge of alcohol-related involuntary manslaughter lodged against a Charlottesville woman in connection with a fatal accident last June on Interstate 64 in New Kent has been dismissed in county circuit court.

Judge Thomas B. Hoover tossed out the charge against Sara Ethridge Klingel, 27, following a Dec. 21 trial, ruling that the prosecution had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Last June 13 around 3 a.m., Klingel was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Montero that suddenly swerved out of the passing lane near the 223-mile marker on westbound I-64, crossed the travel lane, and struck a Dodge Durango parked in the breakdown lane. Cynthia Marie White, who had been driving the Durango and had stepped outside the vehicle to change seats with another passenger, was struck and killed instantly.

Testimony by a state forensic toxicologist revealed Klingel’s blood/alcohol level registered .11, above the state’s .08 threshold for driving drunk, almost two hours after the accident.

But Hoover pointed to testimony by a prosecution eyewitness who noted nothing unusual occurred when Klingel’s vehicle passed his moments before the accident. Emory Jackson Wilson III told the court the Montero appeared to be traveling about 70 miles per hour while remaining steady on the road as it passed by. The Montero had pulled ahead about a quarter-mile when it abruptly swerved and collided with the Durango before overturning and coming to rest in the median strip, he said.

Klingel and two companions were returning home after attending a concert in Hampton. Her lawyer, Michael Huyoung, told the court his client had been drinking earlier, but had slept for a few hours in her SUV before starting out for home. White and three companions, meanwhile, were returning to Richmond after an outing in Virginia Beach.

In tossing out the DUI manslaughter charge, Hoover said, “I don’t know if [Klingel] drove off the road because she was sleepy or under the influence of alcohol. Mr. Wilson said the car safely passed him at 70 miles per hour.”

The judge said the prosecution failed to present evidence that alcohol causes an individual to become drowsy.

“The evidence is not here to sufficiently prove she drove off the side of the road due to alcohol,” Hoover added.

As the judge’s ruling became evident, the victim’s mother, seated in the back of the courtroom, began sobbing. Upon hearing dismissal of the charge, she erupted in anger.

“It’s not fair. I don’t have my baby no more,” she screamed as bailiffs escorted her from the courtroom.

Klingel, meanwhile, also faced a separate misdemeanor DUI charge. Hoover found her guilty, imposing 12 months in jail with six months suspended for the next five years along with a $2,000 fine ($1,000 suspended).

Afterward, prosecutor Linwood Gregory said the victim’s family could file a civil suit in the matter. He also expressed disappointment over the judge’s decision.

“The evidence is what the evidence is and evidently in his mind it didn’t show the dots connected between the accident and DUI,” he said. “Sometimes the evidence does not play out like you hoped it would.”