The 25-year-old could barely get out the words, her breathing in gasps and tears streaming down her face.
“Today is a day I never imagined,” Cori Clingman said.
She couldn’t have seen herself standing in a Prince George’s County courtroom, preparing to be sentenced for her role in a fatal crash that ended the lives of three young men.
They were the same young men she grew up with on the field as their football team manager at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The same ones she visited during college breaks. The same group who popped up at her hair salon, she described.
What began as a gathering for drinks to send off Minnesota Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson nearly two years ago ended Wednesday with Judge William A. Snoddy handing down a three-year sentence. It came months after Clingman pleaded guilty in November to three counts of negligent homicide while under the influence of alcohol in connection with the crash.
Jackson, a month shy of his 25th birthday, and his former Wise teammates Isaiah Hazel, 23, and Anthony Lytton Jr., 24, were all killed.
In court, tissue boxes floated between the rows of the gallery as family and friends of both Clingman and the victims packed the room where the sentence was handed down. Dozens of victim impact statements were sent to the judge capturing the magnitude of the loss.
“This court recognizes the severity of taking three lives in this manner,” Snoddy said, noting Clingman’s “conscious” choice to drink and drive.
The judge’s sentence — a total of 15 years, suspended for all but three years — aligned with a recommendation by the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office’s. State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said her office had recommended the sentence because both drivers were speeding, everyone was friends and the killing was unintentional.
A Prince George’s grand jury indicted Clingman last year on 13 counts, including driving under the influence of alcohol and negligent manslaughter. As part of her guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed the remaining 10 counts.
Prosecutors said the incident unfolded after a group of friends, including Clingman, Jackson, Lytton and Hazel, gathered at Upper Marlboro’s Famous Lounge Restaurant & Bar. Clingman said in court Wednesday that she had received a phone call from Jackson, who wanted to see her before he left for Minnesota.
The group left the lounge in separate cars. Clingman drove a silver Infiniti Q50 with two passengers, while Hazel drove Jackson and Lytton in a red Dodge Charger, authorities said. Prosecutors said Clingman, Hazel, Jackson and Lytton had been drinking.
“Their actions that evening do not negate the actions of the defendant,” said Joel Patterson, an assistant state’s attorney.
About 3:15 a.m. on July 6, 2024, while driving on Route 4 near Presidential Parkway, the vehicles driven by Clingman and Hazel both reached speeds over 100 mph. Evidence did not show that the cars were racing, Patterson said.
Clingman at one point changed lanes to avoid hitting a car in front of her, and clipped another car before hitting the Charger, prosecutors said. Hazel lost control and the car went off the road and struck a tree stump. Hazel and Jackson died at the scene. Lytton was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Clingman, the two passengers in her vehicle, and the driver of the third car were uninjured.
The crash thrust a community into mourning. At a vigil held in their honor, Wise’s head football coach described Jackson, Lytton and Hazel as “legends.”
Jackson had been drafted by the Vikings less than three months before the crash, while Hazel had his sights on the 2025 NFL Combine after playing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of Maryland. Lytton was finishing up his collegiate eligibility at Bowie State University, having played at Florida State and Penn State.
“We all know they were football players, but they were also human beings,” Jacqueline Lytton, Lytton’s mother, said during Clingman’s sentencing.
Lytton joked and laughed with his cousins, a constant presence at their family birthdays and holidays. Jackson played videos games with his little brother and bought him new shoes, part of the signature style Jackson had. Hazel brought a smile to everyone he met, only a phone call away to lift someone’s spirit.
The victims’ family members said they did not know Clingman well, and that her friendship with the young men shouldn’t excuse her actions and the need for accountability.
Thomas Christopher Mooney, Clingman’s attorney, argued otherwise, pointing out that Clingman served as a football team manager at Wise and was “among the closest of friends” with the men who died.
Clingman mourned their deaths alone, Mooney said. She didn’t attend their funerals, aware of the potential tension. Clingman told the court she’s since started a flower business in tribute to Jackson, Hazel and Lytton because she “never gave them their flowers.”
Clingman acknowledged her actions in the crash and apologized to each of the families at court. She also expressed condolences to the family of Shahid Omar Jr., who was fatally shot outside a vigil honoring Jackson, Hazel and Lytton.
“The weight of all these losses is something I carry with me every day,” Clingman said. “From the deepest place in my heart, I’m sorry.”
Clingman had been under house arrest while awaiting her sentencing, and Mooney asked the judge not to send her to prison. Clingman has no prior criminal record, he said, and works as a cosmetologist and hairstylist at a salon. The salon’s owner was among some people who spoke in support of Clingman’s character, and how remorseful she has been.
As part of Clingman’s sentence, Snoddy credited her with 377 days time served.
Mooney said Clingman is available for parole “almost immediately.” Clingman will be on three years of supervised probation following her incarceration and must complete 80 hours of community service.
The state’s attorney spoke pointedly after Clingman’s sentencing.
“I’m especially talking to our young people. We get out here, young people, and you think you’re invincible, and you think that it’ll be okay,” Tara Jackson said. “Speed and alcohol kills.”
Inside, court deputies placed Clingman in handcuffs. The families all spilled out of their seats, crying in the hall.
Juan Benn Jr. contributed to this report.
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