LINCOLN, Maine — A Howland woman is facing a civil charge in connection with a November 2014 head-on collision in Enfield that claimed the life of a Portland woman, a Penobscot County prosecutor said Thursday.
Katie Drost, 31, formerly known as Katie Martin, is charged with a motor vehicle violation resulting in death, which in this case involved failure to use care when making a left turn, according to Marianne Lynch, assistant district attorney for Penobscot County.
Karla Kenniston, 64, died in the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Six other six people were taken to the hospital, some with serious injuries.
Drost denied the charge Tuesday in Lincoln District Court, Lynch said. Lynch said that a dispositional conference has been scheduled for April 5 at the same location.
If convicted, Drost faces a fine of up to $5,000 and the loss of her driver’s license for up to four years, Lynch said. The fine also could be converted to community service but that is a relatively rare occurrence, she said.
Lynch said that Drost does not face jail time because the charge is a civil charge, not a criminal charge.
“The defendant was not on the phone, she was not speeding and she was not under the influence of intoxicants” when the crash occurred, Lynch said.
“The case was thoroughly investigated by Penobscot County sheriff’s Detective Andrew Whitehouse. We determined that the case didn’t reach the level of criminal standard for felony manslaughter but the defendant did have some responsibility in not taking care when she was effectuating that left-hand turn,” Lynch said.
The fatal crash occurred on the morning of Nov. 15, 2014, near the intersection of Route 2 and Mohawk Road, when Drost crossed into the oncoming lane of an SUV driven by Kathi Hinkelman-Emery, 60, of Lincoln. Kenniston was a passenger in the SUV.