Prosecutors in Maryland weigh charges in crash that killed Vikings rookie, 2 high school friends

Prosecutors say they will review evidence this week and are moving “quickly and expeditiously” toward deciding whether to charge the driver who caused a three-car crash in Maryland over the weekend that killed a Minnesota Vikings rookie and two of his former high school teammates.

Cornerback Khyree Jackson, the 108th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, died in the wreck shortly after 3:10 a.m. Saturday in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Upper Marlboro, the Maryland State Police said. Also killed were fellow vehicle occupants Anthony “A.J.” Lytton Jr., 24, and Isaiah Hazel, 23.

Police said Hazel was driving a Dodge Charger, with Jackson in the front passenger’s seat and Lytton in the back, when the driver of an Infiniti Q50 tried to change lanes on northbound Pennsylvania Avenue and speed past the Charger. The Q50, driven by 23-year-old Cori Imani Clingman, struck the Charger and sent it sliding off the road and hitting tree stumps, according to police.

Clingman also hit a Chevrolet Impala, the police said. Neither Clingman nor her two passengers were hurt. The Impala’s driver also escaped injury, the police added.

The police said investigators “believe alcohol may have been a contributing circumstance in the crash.”

Denise Douglas, spokeswoman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, told the Star Tribune on Monday that prosecutors “are definitely moving quickly and expeditiously” toward deciding whether to charge Clingman.

“An early evidentiary review has been scheduled for this week,” Douglas said.

“Our office continues to work diligently with [the State Police] on this ongoing investigation,” she added. “We only have initial reports, which do not include the [blood alcohol content], which has to be developed from the medical records in this case. We have not yet received those yet.”

Messages were left Monday for Clingman, of Upper Marlboro, Md., seeking her reaction to the police allegations.

Court records show that Clingman has been cited twice since 2018 for speeding, including in one instance when she was ticketed for going 100 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.

Among the many inside the Vikings organization who mourned Jackson’s death was General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who said in a statement that his personality “captured every room he was in.”

“As we got to know him throughout the predraft process, it was clear the goals Khyree wanted to accomplish both professionally and personally,” Adofo-Mensah said. “His story was one of resilience. He was taking steps to become the best version of himself not just for him, but for those who cared about and looked up to him.”

Jackson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Vikings in April. He arrived in Minnesota after an improbable journey to the NFL. He had quit football and was working at a grocery store and a Chipotle before returning to the sport. He eventually played two years at Alabama before finishing his college career with one season at Oregon.

Hazel played college football at Maryland and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and Lytton played at Florida State and Penn State.

The three close friends won a state championship together at Upper Marlboro’s Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School.

Star Tribune staff writers Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.