Driver Who Killed Newlyweds In Edgewater Used Heroin Before Crash

EDGEWATER, MD — A Calvert County woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from a collision on Valentine's Day 2016 in Edgewater that took the lives of a newlywed couple, Daniel and Kayla Amos. Lauren Renee Scott, 28, of North Beach, was sentenced Friday by Circuit Court Judge Donna M. Schaeffer to eight years in prison with five years of supervised probation after her release for two counts of negligent manslaughter.

Scott pleaded guilty April 25 to two counts of grossly negligent manslaughter by vehicle. She appeared before a judge in a hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Wes Adams said in a statement Friday that Scott's use of heroin led to the head-on crash. While she was hospitalized after the collision a toxicology screen showed cannabinoids and opiates in Scott's urine. She told nurses that she had injected heroin the morning of the accident, and had not slept prior to the collision because she had "used," the prosecutor said.

On Feb. 14, 2016, Scott was driving a Toyota Camry southbound on Solomons Island Road in Edgewater when it crossed the median and crashed head-on into a Honda Civic driven by Daniel Brian Amos, 21. His 20-year-old wife, Kayla Nicole Amos, was a passenger in the Honda. A third vehicle struck the two cars, causing the Honda to overturn.

Daniel Amos died at the scene. Kayla Amos died the next morning in a Baltimore hospital. The couple was out celebrating their six-month wedding anniversary at the time of the crash.

"I believe Dan and Kayla are in Heaven celebrating all the good that God has accomplished through this tragedy," said Kevin Amos, father of Dan Amos, in a news release. "We really believe, and so did Dan and Kayla, that God doesn't cause these tragedies but, according to scripture, brings about changed hearts and changed lives, for the better, through these painful times."

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Jacki Cosner, mother of Kayla Amos, said that since the fatal crash she has learned much about opiates and "the horrible world those people drawn to it endure. I may not have been living with it for years, but I certainly have since February 14, 2016 - I consider myself a mom that lost her children to heroin," Cosner said in a statement. "If you are considering drugs, please understand that saying 'NO' will not only save your life but could be saving the lives of someone else."

Under a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped drug-related charges, according to the Capital Gazette, the local newspaper. Scott agreed to spend at least two years in prison and another five years on supervised probation. The drug-related charges against Scott included homicide by negligent driving while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, the Capital Gazette reported.

But her lawyer argued that drugs did not contribute to the accident, saying that Scott admitted to using heroin at about 1:30 a.m. before the day of the crash; it happened at about 4:15 p.m. Instead, he said, Scott was overly tired while trying to drive to her job at a restaurant as a waitress, which caused the accident.

Daniel and Kayla Amos lived in California, Md., and he served as an arts and music leader at Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown. Kayla worked at Maertens Fine Jewelry & Gifts in Lusby.

Photo of Lauren Renee Scott, courtesy of Anne Arundel County Police