It started when a D.C. man hit a police car, ending with the crash killing a Howard University student.
Now, a federal judge has decided the driver, 24-year-old Darnell E. Bassett of D.C., will serve over four years in a federal prison.
Bassett pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the June 24 death of 27-year-old Brittany Burks, a Howard University student from Amherst, New York.
According to his plea agreement, Bassett admitted to hitting a police car in Northeast D.C., then speeding off as another police car gave chase.
Bassett raced onto the Baltimore Washington Parkway, and D.C. police called off their pursuit.
Bassett kept driving, speeding along the shoulder. At one point, his car blew a tire and while hitting speeds of 70 miles an hour, Bassett took an exit ramp to the Inner Loop of the Beltway.
Investigators said he suddenly veered left into a safety zone between the ramp and the travel lanes, slamming into Burks’ car so hard it spun around and then onto its side.
Burks, who had been stopped in an area alongside the highway in her Honda CR-V, died at the scene.
Along with prison time, Bassett was sentenced to three years supervised release and will have to pay $10,337 in restitution, including Burks’ funeral and burial costs.
