Woman Who Killed Newlyweds In Edgewater Crash To Get Prison Time

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A Calvert County woman faces up to eight years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to manslaughter charges stemming from a collision on Valentine's Day last year in Edgewater that took the lives of a newlywed couple, according to media reports.

Lauren Renee Scott, 28, of North Beach pleaded guilty to two counts of grossly negligent manslaughter by vehicle, WJZ-TV CBS Baltimore reported. She appeared before a judge in a hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

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.

Prosecutors recommended that Scott should receive a 20-year prison sentence, with all but eight years suspended, WJZ-TV reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 9 by Judge Donna Schaeffer.

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. Police said that Scott admitted to using marijuana and heroin before the accident, and a toxicology test showed that she had opioids and cannabis in her system.

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.

Images: Patch; below, Lauren Renee Scott (AACPD)