Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Tervell Ham, age 46, of Washington, D.C., to 42 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for involuntary manslaughter, in connection with the deaths of two passengers in his vehicle from a crash when Ham was driving under the influence of PCP.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the U.S. Park Police.
According to Ham’s plea agreement, on December 29, 2019, Ham was driving on the Suitland Parkway in Maryland, accompanied by two female passengers (Victim A and Victim B), who were sisters. Witnesses saw Ham driving recklessly and erratically. One witness saw Ham driving on and off the grassy median. Another witness saw Ham drive his car off the roadway, hit a tree, and roll over. Victim B, who was the rear-seat passenger was ejected from the vehicle in the crash. She was transported to the hospital where she died. Victim A was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy of both victims concluded that they died of multiple injuries sustained during the crash.
Ham was transported to a hospital where he provided written consent to have blood drawn for testing to determine the presence of any alcohol or drugs. The sample was positive for the presence of marijuana and PCP. An analysis showed that Ham had 0.03 milligrams of PCP per liter in his body at the time of the crash and was under the influence of PCP. It was unsafe for Ham to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of PCP.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the U.S. Park Police for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hollis R. Weisman and Rajeev R. Raghavan, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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