Karen Holt-Williams was killed in the August 2014 crash on the Capital Beltway. A former state police cadet was found at fault in the incident.
Upper Marlboro, MD – A St. Mary’s County man who once planned to become a state police trooper is awaiting sentencing after recently being found guilty in connection with the 2014 death of a motorist. The defendant, Sebastian Leonard Reyes, 20 of Mechanicsville, was indicted in April 2015 in Prince George’s County and charged with manslaughter by auto, criminally negligent manslaughter, reckless driving, negligent driving, failure to control a motor vehicle to avoid a collision, speed greater than prudent and failure to drive in a designated lane. On Nov. 17 a Prince George’s jury found Reyes guilty on five of the six counts. He was acquitted on the criminally negligent manslaughter charge.
The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred Aug. 1, 2014, on the Capital Beltway. At the time, Reyes was a Maryland State Police (MSP) cadet and was driving an MSP vehicle. Investigators reported Reyes used a crossover for emergency vehicles to head in the opposition direction on the Beltway. Reyes lost control of the police vehicle and sideswiped a vehicle which then crashed into a jersey wall.
The vehicle’s driver, Karen Holt-Williams, 59 of Temple Hills, later died at a local hospital. Holt-Williams, the mother of five, had taught school in the District of Columbia as well as Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
After the jury’s verdict was announced, Reyes’ $50,000 bond was revoked by Judge Michael Pearson and remains in custody pending his sentencing, according to court documents.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com