A 36-year-old exotic dancer on Baltimore’s well-known block of strip bars was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of a police officer.
Kerri King, 36, of the 100 block of Danford Drive in Elkton, also pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident and two counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
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“The MDTA Police is again mourning the loss of Cpl. [Courtney] Brooks, who made the ultimate sacrifice as he served Maryland’s citizens. We support the Brooks family in their decision to accept this plea and pray this helps provide them with much-needed closure,” said MDTA Police Chief Marcus Brown.
With a large number of police officers looking on, Baltimore City Circuit Judge Thomas Waxter sentenced King after she admitted to striking and killing Brooks on New Year’s Eve in 2007 as he directed traffic at Exit 53 on northbound Interstate 95.
King had been drinking heavily for 12 hours before the 11:20 p.m. accident and the impact of the collision threw Brooks 79 feet through the air, prosecutors said. King then fled the scene, trying to elude capture by driving home on back roads, according to prosecutors.
A 13-year police veteran, Brooks, 40, was a member of the MDTA Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Unit. The Carroll County resident was the father of three and was engaged to be married.
