TACOMA – The driver of the small car that plunged into the chilly Elwha River early Sunday morning – killing two teenagers among the seven inside – was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in federal court Monday.
Court documents quote Sela Anne Kalama, 19, of Queets as saying she drank 14 to 16 containers of Budweiser beer before taking the wheel of the 1997 Kia Sephia sedan and driving off the abrupt end of Lower Elwha Road into the swollen river sometime between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
Kalama, 19, a member of the Quinault tribe of Queets, was text-messaging on her cell phone – an act known as “texting” – while driving, witnesses told FBI agents.
She appeared before a federal judge Monday in Tacoma after being taken into custody Sunday night by the FBI. She remained in federal custody.
Her detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The case falls under federal jurisdiction because the crash occurred on the Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation just west of Port Angeles.
Federal involuntary manslaughter charges carry a maximum of six years in prison or a $250,000 fine, followed by a three-year supervised release.
