A 20-year-old man has been indicted on manslaughter charges in a May traffic crash that killed three other young adults in Olney. A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Kevin Coffay on Thursday on three counts of manslaughter by vehicle and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, said Seth Zucker, spokesman for the county State’s Attorney’s Office.
Coffay could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of all of the charges, Zucker said.
Prosecutors allege that Coffay fled after crashing his Toyota Corolla into a tree on the 4700 block of Olney-Laytonsville Road shortly after 3 a.m. on May 15.
Three passengers — one Magruder High School student and two recent graduates — were killed in the crash. A fourth passenger was injured but survived.
A prosecutor said in court earlier this year that Coffay, a 2009 Magruder graduate, had been drinking before the crash.
Coffay’s attorney, Michael McAuliffe, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. In the past, he has said that Coffay’s actions were of those of a “panicky kid.”
Prosecutors have said that Coffay and his passengers attended two parties the night of the wreck. Coffay’s alcohol level was tested, but officials have not disclosed the toxicology results.
Zucker would not comment on the role alcohol might have played in the crash. The next hearing for Coffay will likely be scheduled in a few days, Zucker said. He declined to comment further on the case.
Killed in the crash were 18-year-old Haeley McGuire, of Rockville; 18-year-old Spencer Datt, of Derwood; and 20-year-old John Hoover, of Rockville. Charles Nardella, 19, of Gaithersburg, survived the accident.
McGuire was a senior at Magruder at the time of the crash; the others had graduated from the school in 2009 and 2010.
Coffay was apprehended near his Rockville home the morning of the crash after a three-hour police search. He suffered minor injuries in the accident.
Coffay initially was charged with less severe offenses: failing to remain at the scene of an accident, not rendering assistance to an injured person, failing to report an accident to the police and attempting to elude police.
