Maryland woman charged in crash that killed Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and his friends

The driver of a car that struck and killed Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two other men in a Maryland crash last summer was arrested and indicted Thursday with 13 counts, including criminally negligent manslaughter, homicide as a result of negligent driving and drunken driving.

Jackson, a fourth-round pick in last year’s NFL draft out of the University of Oregon and a Maryland native, died in the wreck that occurred shortly after 3:10 a.m. on July 6 in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Upper Marlboro, Md.

Cori Imani Clingman, 24, was driving an Infiniti Q50 when she tried to change lanes on northbound Pennsylvania Avenue to pass a Dodge Charger, according to Maryland State Police, and instead struck the Charger, sending it off the road. The Charger, in which Jackson and Anthony “A.J.” Lytton Jr., 24, were riding, and driven by Isaiah Hazel, 23, hit multiple tree stumps before stopping, police said.

Jackson and Hazel were pronounced dead at the scene, and Lytton died at a nearby hospital. Clingman and her two passengers were uninjured, as was the driver of a Chevrolet Impala also struck by the Infiniti, police said.

Aisha Braveboy, the state’s attorney for Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro, announced the charges and Clingman’s arrest at a Thursday press conference. She called the crash a “horrific, tragic collision,” and said the charges mark the start of “our fight to get justice for these three young men.”

“Our community lost three amazing young men,” Braveboy said. “All were scholars, all were athletes. … Each of them deserve our consideration and our prayer.”

A Maryland grand jury indicted Clingman with three counts each of negligent manslaughter; criminally negligent manslaughter; negligent homicide while operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol; and homicide while driving impaired by alcohol. She was also charged with one count of drunken driving. The charges are a mix of felonies and misdemeanors, spokeswoman Denise Douglas said.

One or more of the vehicles were traveling at “very high” speeds before the crash, Braveboy told reporters at a news conference, but she declined to specify which of the cars was speeding. Court records show that Clingman has been cited twice for speeding since 2018, including once when she was reportedly was going 100 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Maryland’s online court records search did not show the case information for Clingman as of late Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately known if she had an attorney.

Coming on the eve of the start of training camp, Jackson’s death stunned the team just as it was preparing for the new season. Vikings leadership reached out to support Jackson’s family, paying for his funeral along with the remainder of his signing bonus to his estate.

Players wore decals on their helmets with his number 31, and coaches wore pins with the same design.