BANGOR, Maine: An Indian national man pleaded guilty in federal court today to three counts of manslaughter, two counts of operating under the influence (OUI), and one count of unsafe operation of a motor vehicle. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee.
According to court records, in the early morning hours of August 31, 2019, Praneeth Manubolu, 30, then living in New Jersey on a student visa, was the driver in a motor vehicle crash on the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park that injured him and killed his three passengers. Subsequent investigation revealed that Manubolu had been drinking earlier in the evening. His blood alcohol content was determined to be .095% approximately 90 minutes after the crash with the legal limit being .08%. The investigation also revealed that Manubolu’s car was traveling 76 mph approximately three seconds before impact. The speed limit on the section of Park Loop Road where the crash occurred was 25 mph.
On each manslaughter count, Manubolu faces not more than eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also faces up to three years of supervised release. On each of the two OUI counts and the unsafe operation count, Manubolu faces up to six months in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also faces up to one year of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The National Park Service and the Bar Harbor Police Department investigated the case with the assistance of Maine State Police and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.
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