Belfast woman to serve three years for manslaughter
BELFAST — A Belfast woman was sentenced to spend the next three years in prison April 6, as a result of her role in the 2016 death of 19-year-old Christopher Wiley in a violent single vehicle accident.
Chelsea Larrabee, now 21, was convicted of four of the five charges brought against her for the May 14 crash, which also left two other passengers seriously injured. The charges included manslaughter, three counts of aggravated criminal operating under the influence, and aggravated driving to endanger.
A lone count of criminal operating under the influence was dropped as part of a plea deal.
According to court documents, Larrabee had been drinking and using marijuana the night of the crash, which happened just after midnight on Route 52. Larrabee reportedly drove her three passengers from their Brooks location toward Knight’s Pond in Northport when her vehicle left the roadway, just before the Northport town line.
According to an affidavit, the vehicle flipped over multiple times, during which time Wiley was ejected from the vehicle, which came to rest on its roof, 238 yards from the roadway. The vehicle was reportedly traveling at 95 miles per hour five seconds before the crash, despite the 45 mile per hour speed limit.
Unlike Wiley, Larrabee and the other two passengers in the vehicle had been wearing their seat belts and were not ejected during the rollover. Though both other passengers escaped with their lives, they did not come away from the wreck unscathed.
One passenger reportedly sustained injuries to their neck, chest, and ankle, including a fracture to the neck and pulmonary contusions. The other passenger suffered a fractured spine, in addition to multiple abrasions and contusions, according to court documents.
Wiley was reported deceased roughly 24 hours after the crash, due to blunt force trauma, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Authorities recreated the accident, which happened when roads were reportedly still wet from recent rain. The report notes that the area the group was traveling through was rural, with multiple hills and turns.
Despite these factors, law enforcement ultimately determined that it was Larrabee’s speed, in addition to her inebriation that was the cause of the crash. Larrabee’s blood alcohol content was found to be .134 percent when tested after the accident.
Ultimately Larrabee was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but three suspended for the charge of manslaughter. In addition to spending three years in prison, she will also serve four years of probation and must complete 100 hours of community service as a result of the most serious of her charges.
Larrabee was sentenced to two years in prison, six years of license suspension, and a $2,100 fine for each of the two counts of operating under the influence she was convicted of. She will spend six months in jail and pay a $575 fine for the charge of aggravated driving to endanger.
Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com
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