A woman is set to spend nearly two decades in prison for killing a man and five children — including her two daughters — in a drunken car crash last year.
Dominique Taylor was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for the crash in Bowie, Maryland, in February 2019. She could have been sentenced to a maximum of 30 years.
Taylor's blood alcohol level was 0.16, or twice the legal limit, when she lost control on Route 301 and hit several trees. She also had marijuana in her system, prosecutors have said. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September.
Taylor's daughters, London Dixon, 8, and Paris Dixon, 5, were killed, as were three of their cousins: Damari Herald, 15; Zion Beard, 14; and Rickelle Ricks, 6.
The sixth victim, Cornell "Donte" Simon, 23, was taken off life support weeks after the crash.
Taylor, then 32, was driving a Chrysler Pacifica at about 4:25 a.m. Feb. 2, 2019 northbound on Route 301 near Pointer Ridge Drive. The vehicle veered off the road, crashed into several trees and spun into a field.
The children were not wearing seat belts, and they were thrown from the car. All five children were pronounced dead. Simon was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Taylor had more minor injuries.
Hundreds of people attended a funeral for the victims. The grandfather of 6-year-old Rickelle Ricks said there that he would remember the little girl for her joyfulness.
"When I would gaze into her eyes, I saw a little girl whose eyes were filled with unending joy and love," he said.
