CLAYTON -- A month after an accident that killed a 17-year-old Clayton High School senior, police have charged her friend, who was driving, with a misdemeanor.
Kristy Tamayo, 19, of Dewberry Court in Clayton, faces one count of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen announced Jan. 9.
Tamayo was driving a Honda Civic that crossed the center lane into the path of an oncoming sport utility vehicle on Amelia Church Road late on the morning of Dec. 10. Police said she overcorrected after edging off the road to the right.
Her passenger, Tania Ritacco, died that evening. Investigators determined that both teens and the driver of the SUV were wearing seat belts and that neither vehicle was speeding.
The charges were brought after officers reviewed crash data, conducted interviews, and consulted with the Office of the District Attorney
Allen said the investigation did not take the whole month since the accident. Rather, officers decided to give Tamayo time to recover from injuries before charging her.
"Part of the delay in filing the charge was to give the defendant to the chance to re-cooperate from serious injuries and hospitalization that resulted after the collision," Allen said.
He said that he believes the investigating officer, J.B. Hutchins, made the right decision.
"I think the elements of the offense were appropriate," Allen said. "This is an accident where driver inattention caused the driver to run off the road to the right and then overcorrect. Therefore, the vehicle went left of center, which is an infraction. And this law basically covers vehicle deaths that occur in motor vehicle accidents when the driver unintentionally causes the death of someone while committing a traffic infraction."
Allen said that Tamayo has not been arrested. She has only been summoned to appear in court Feb. 15.
Joy Jones, a Smithfield criminal defense attorney, said these charges are normal for drivers who survived a crash that killed a passenger.
"If they are at fault and it was their own death, that's one thing, but they pretty much do file (these charges) when the driver who caused the accident lives," Jones said. "I can't think of a case where they wouldn't."
Jones explained that as a class I misdemeanor, the person would have to be guilty if they either kill another living human being unintentionally while committing a violation of any state law or local ordinance ,while driving a vehicle, as long as the crash is the correlating cause of death. If the passenger died due to a medical error, that might be a different story.
"That the accident is the cause of death is linked directly to it," Jones said.
If Tamayo has no prior convictions, which she does not, the sentencing would likely be between one and 45 days of probation - or community service.
Then, the case would be sent to the DMV where they would determine license suspension.
"The worst part is they could lose their license," Jones said. "The DMV process, if she's convicted of (the misdemeanor), that's an automatic suspension of her driver's license."
Jones added that in cases where a misdemeanor death by motor vehicle charge is filed, civil suits often follow.
"There usually is a pending civil lawsuit. It may not be in every case, but in most cases there is a civil lawsuit," Jones said.
