What Happen to the Family of the Driver That Killed Stormie Harell?

A Pace man who got behind the bicycle drunk, fled a deputy, hit another auto head-on at 88 mph and killed ii young girls was sentenced to life in prison on Mon.

Kailen Kelly, 35, was charged with 2 counts of DUI manslaughter and an array of boosted offenses in connection with a May 6 crash on Woodbine Road that claimed the lives of siblings Stormie Harrell, 7, and Sidney Dowdy, 17.

Kelly pleaded no contest to the offenses, claiming he did not want to go through a drawn-out trial and cause additional pain and hardship for the two girls' family unit.

In an emotional hearing Monday in Milton, the girls' family unit members chosen on Judge David Rimmer to requite Kelly the maximum sentence of life in prison.

Melanie Harrell, who had been driving her daughters home from the beach when the crash occurred, limped upwards to the stand up with her arm even so in a sling and her eyes red from crying. When asked how her life had been since the crash, she said, "My life has been miserable. 2 of the most precious things I wake up for every mean solar day are gone."

1 of the girls' older brothers took the stand and reminisced nigh some of his memories with his sisters — how cute Sydney had been on the night of her prom, waking up early on and eating dry cereal with Stormie.

Matthew Harrell, the girls' male parent, took the stand up and told the judge, "I wait at the pain on my kids' face every 24-hour interval and the pain on my wife'due south face every day. ... Life in prison house is also skillful for (Kelly)."

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At the hearing, witnesses testified that Kelly had spent the day drinking before climbing in his truck and going angling. His wife tracked him downwardly and tried to convince him to ride home with her in her auto, merely Kelly instead drove away from the area at loftier speed.

He reportedly rear ended some other driver and kept going before passing a marked Santa Rosa Canton Sheriff's Office SUV. He reportedly was reportedly driving 80 mph in a 55-mph zone.

Kelly refused to pull over for the deputy, who was ultimately forced to discontinue the pursuit because Kelly'southward erratic driving and high speed posed a danger to the public.

More:Victim driver still hospitalized afterwards suspected DUI crash that killed teen, kid

The Florida Highway Patrol reported Kelly was going "full throttle," about 95 mph, just earlier the crash, and that he slowed just slightly to most 88 mph earlier barreling head-on into the victims' vehicle. Stormie and Sidney were killed, and Melanie Harrell and another rider, McKenzie Murphy, eighteen, were seriously injured.

The FHP tested Kelly's claret booze level roughly 4 hours later the crash, and it was still virtually 1.xxx pct, well over the legal limit of .08 percent. Testing also revealed marijuana in his organization.

Kelly sat quietly with his head bowed for most of the sentencing hearing. When given a chance to speak, he apologized to the family for all the pain he had caused them, noting, "My mom used to tell me that sometimes lamentable isn't skillful enough," something he said he didn't fully comprehend until this incident.

He said all he could do was accept responsibility for his actions and pray God would heal the pain he had caused the Harrells.

Before handing downwards his sentence, Judge Rimmer, a 40-year veteran of the criminal justice organisation, said, "I tin can tell you this is the worst DUI manslaughter example I have ever seen in my career. The very worst."

The Harrells wept quietly and embraced when the judge appear Kelly's life sentence.

Assistant Land Attorney Matt Gordon, who prosecuted the example for the state, had told Rimmer that Kelly had a history of mayhem behind the wheel and was "a fatal accident waiting to happen."

According to Gordon, Kelly has x prior criminal convictions, including DUI convictions in 2000 and 2001 in Texas and Okaloosa County respectively.

In 2017, Kelly was convicted of reckless driving in Okaloosa County.

Just half dozen weeks before the fatal standoff, Kelly had reportedly fled the scene of a DUI crash he caused and collided with a phone pole.

Kelly regained driving privileges only days before hitting the Harrells' vehicle.

Kevin Robinson can be reached at krobinson4@pnj.com and 850-435-8527.

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Source: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2018/09/24/pace-dui-driver-gets-life-sentence-crash-killed-sisters/1410058002/

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