Teen Drunk Driver Who Killed Two Friends Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

Rockville, MD - The drunk teenage driver who admitted he caused the deaths of two Wootton High School friends a year ago after an underage beer party has been sentenced to prison, according to media reports

Samuel Ellis, 19, of Gaithersburg, a former star quarterback at the school, in April pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide.

Four teens left the underage drinking party on June 25, 2015, police have said, when Ellis’ car left the road, struck a tree and flipped over, killing Alexander Murk, 18, of Potomac and Calvin Jia-Xing Li, 18, of Rockville. The Potomac man who hosted the alleged underage drinking party pleaded guilty to furnishing alcohol to a minor.

On Thursday, a Montgomery County judge sentenced Ellis to four years in prison — two years for each passenger who died. Another 16 years of prison time was suspended by the judge, WTOP reports.

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Ellis must serve five years of probation once he is released from prison; as a condition of the probation he must use an ignition interlock device on his vehicle. 

And the judge decided Ellis must speak to high school groups about the dangers of drunk driving.

Montgomery County Police found cold beer at the crash scene. Court documents said Ellis had a blood alcohol level of 0.09 percent, just above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. 

SEE ALSO:

• Teen Drinking, Graduation Decision Continue to Stir Controversy
• ‘This Must Stop’: Principal Tells Parents Hosting Teen Drinking Parties
• Teens Attended Underage Drinking Party Before Deadly Crash, Police Say (Updated)
• ‘It’s a Parent’s Worst Nightmare,’ Says Father of Teen Killed in Crash

At the time, Montgomery County Police Capt. Thomas Didone said at a news conference that cold beer in plastic cups was found inside Ellis’ car.

In March 2015, Ellis was cited for possession of alcohol under the legal age, and the charges were to be dropped pending his completion of an alcohol education program, WTOP reported. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office says Ellis had not completed the program to date.

The Ellis case contributed to outrage among some county parents last week when the head of Montgomery County Schools allowed students to participate in Bethesda graduation ceremonies after underage drinking – a move that overturned a principal’s decision.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Principal Donna Redmond Jones in the days leading up to prom had warned students that anyone caught drinking or using drugs before or during the alcohol-free prom would not be allowed to take part in graduation. Six students were disciplined, the Washington Post reports, including several seniors.

On May 27, interim superintendent Larry A. Bowers said he had reversed the graduation ban. Although the students “consumed alcohol during prom activities,” Bowers said in a letter to parents, he had decided the seniors could walk across the stage to receive their diplomas during the ceremony on June 1.

Bethesda Patch reader Mario D'Ambrosio commented on Patch's coverage of the decision, “So the real message is: your actions do NOT have consequences. Not good.”

Bowers wrote that while he supports the work the school is “doing to promote student safety and healthy decision-making,” school board policy generally forbids exclusion from graduation as a disciplinary tool.

»PHOTO: Wootton High School students gather at the scene of a fatal crash in June 2015, courtesy Montgomery Community Media