The Montgomery County State’s Attorney Office issued the following news release on Friday, April 5:
In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Theresa Chernosky found defendant, Danshell Evon, 38, of Bryans Road, MD, guilty of gross negligent manslaughter, four counts of second-degree assault, and one count of neglect of a minor. The four-day bench trial concluded today with the judge’s verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2024. The defendant faces a maximum of 55 years in prison.
The defendant was driving her 2015 Kia Optima southbound on Connecticut Avenue near Atherton Drive at approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 12, 2022, when she struck a 1997 Ford F-150. Both occupants of the Ford suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the collision, as well as Evon’s two 13-year-old children who were passengers in her vehicle. Evon’s three-year-old daughter, Dreamie Dior Jackson, died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision.
The event data recorder examined during the investigation by the Montgomery County Police Collison Reconstruction Unit revealed that Evon reached speeds in excess of 98 mph in the seconds leading up to the crash. Victim, Dreamie Dior Jackson, was improperly secured in a backless booster seat which contributed to her death.
“This heartbreaking loss of such a young member of our community is a tragedy that was easily avoidable. At the speeds the defendant was traveling, she wasn’t driving a car, she was steering a missile down the road in the middle of rush hour. If the barest of common-sense parenting skills were in place, there would have been a proper child safety seat installed,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Kyle O’Grady and Brian Rubinstein are handling prosecution of this matter.