The Virginian-Pilot
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NORFOLK
A grand jury indicted a drunken-driving suspect of aggravated involuntary manslaughter for a crash last month that killed three passengers.
Prosecutors are seeking three felony charges against Craig A. Watson, 30, in the Aug. 11 wreck that also left two other passengers injured. The grand jury issued sealed indictments against Watson last week.
Watson was arrested late last week and is being held in Hampton Roads Regional Jail. If convicted, each charge carries a minimum one-year prison sentence. The maximum sentence for one count of aggravated involuntary manslaughter is 20 years.
According to a police account, Watson was driving a Mercury sedan with five passengers around 3:20 a.m. on East Indian River Road when the speeding vehicle missed a curve near the former Ford plant. The car tore through a light pole, guardrail and tree before slamming into the porch of a house. Police said speed and alcohol contributed to the crash.
Watson called The Pilot and denied he was driving. His driver's license was suspended at the time of the crash.
The crash killed Paris Shorter, 18, of Virginia Beach; Marquita S. Walker, 19, of Hampton; and Karnell W. Faulkner, 29, of Chesapeake. Two other passengers, Kisha M. Carlock and Demetrius M. Debrow, were injured, according to court records.
Carlock said she must wear a brace for three months to heal her broken back bones. She started her freshman year at Chowan University last month, she said in a telephone interview.
She was riding in the back seat and warned Watson to slow down, she said. Carlock lost her best friend, Paris Shorter.
Paris' father, Robert Shorter, said the indictments are appropriate. "Maybe one day I'll be forgiving," he said. "Right now, I'm not."
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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