A Charles County judge sentenced a District Heights man to 15 years in prison this month for a drunk-driving crash that killed two women and left a third fighting for her life on a stretch of Charles Street in La Plata. Corey Jermaine Kane, 46, had pleaded guilty in April to all charges tied to the July 26, 2025, collision that claimed the lives of Dionee Monae Tyree and Teenona Shavon Huggins.
According to Southern Maryland News Net, Judge Karen Abrams handed down a 20-year sentence with all but 15 years suspended, to be followed by five years of supervised probation. Tony Covington, the State's Attorney for Charles County, announced that Kane had been sentenced for two counts of negligent vehicle manslaughter tied to the deaths of Tyree and Huggins, as well as the hospitalization of a third victim.
Kane had pleaded guilty to all the charges in the indictment on April 24, 2026, the outlet reported. The case stemmed from a crash reported at roughly 7:12 p.m. on July 26, 2025, in the 9900 block of Charles Street, also known as Maryland Route 6, in La Plata, where police, fire personnel, and emergency medical crews responded to a head-on collision.
A Collision That Trapped Three Women
The wreck involved a black 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis and a white 2021 Infiniti SUV that Kane was driving, per the same account. Fire and rescue crews confirmed a two-vehicle head-on collision with all three occupants trapped inside the vehicles.
Tyree, 29, of Washington, D.C., and Huggins, 31, of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Southern Maryland Chronicle. Tyree had been driving the Mercury with Huggins in the front passenger seat, while a third woman, also 31 and from Washington, D.C., was seated in the back.
That third occupant survived after being airlifted from the scene, the Chronicle reported. She suffered head and upper-body injuries with confirmed loss of consciousness before crews from the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department and Charles County Department of Emergency Medical Services extricated her and a Maryland State Police helicopter transported her to a hospital, where she was later listed in stable condition.
A Blood Alcohol Level More Than Twice the Legal Limit
Investigators determined that Kane's blood alcohol concentration measured 0.21 — more than 2.5 times Maryland's legal limit of 0.08 — and that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, the Chronicle reported. Kane showed signs of impairment and completed standardized field sobriety tests unsatisfactorily before he was taken into custody by La Plata Police Department officers; he refused medical treatment at the scene.
The two outlets differ on the precise mechanics of the crash. Southern Maryland News Net reported that Kane crossed into the eastbound lane while attempting to pass another vehicle and struck the Mercury head-on, while the Chronicle reported that investigators determined Kane was driving westbound and crossed the center line while attempting to pass other vehicles before striking the Mercury. Both accounts agree the Mercury was traveling in its own lane when it was hit.
Judge Says No Sentence Can Undo the Harm
During sentencing, Judge Abrams said there was substantial pain in the courtroom and that even a sentence of 150 years would not ease that pain or undo the harm caused by the crash, according to the same report. She added that no justice could make up for what happened to the families of Tyree and Huggins. John Stackhouse addressed the lasting impact of Kane's actions, and Chloe Dopico addressed the court on behalf of the victims' families, per the outlet's account.
The sentence closes out a case that began with 911 callers reporting a vehicle swerving across the roadway before the head-on collision, and that shut down Route 6 for more than four hours as investigators worked the scene. Kane is now set to serve 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised probation once released.
