INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 29: Oregon defensive back Khyree Jackson answers questions from the media during the NFL Scouting Combine on February 29, 2024, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Over a year after Khyree Jackson died in a fatal car crash, the woman responsible has entered her criminal plea. On Friday, November 7, Cori Clingman pled guilty to three counts of negligent homicide. She’s accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a road accident that killed 24-year-old Khyree Jackson and two others.
ESPN reports that Cori Clingman entered her plea in a Maryland court. Before her plea agreement, the driver was facing 13 charges, including negligent manslaughter and drunken driving. Prosecutors will reportedly recommend that she serve a five-year sentence per count, with all but one suspended. This means that she’s likely to spend three years behind bars, as she’ll have to serve each year consecutively. But the final count will remain unclear until her sentencing date on February 4, 2026.
The three-car accident at the center of this case took place on July 6, 2024. Several months before, the Minnesota Vikings has selected Khyree Jackson as their fourth-round pick. On the day of the accident, he and two of his high school teammates, 23-year-old Isaiah Hazel and 24-year-old Anthony Lytton Jr., were riding in a Dodge Charger driven by Hazel. Cori Clingman slammed into their vehicle with her Infiniti Q50, sending the Charger off the road and into multiple tree stumps. The driver, Hazel, and Khyree Jackson, who was in the passenger seat, died on the scene. Medics transported Lytton Jr., who was in the back seat, to a nearby hospital. However, hospital doctors ultimately pronounced him dead.
Cori Clingman and two passengers in her car were uninjured in the accident. Clingman had struck a third car, a Chevrolet Impala. Its driver also had no injuries. When police arrested Cori, her blood alcohol content was reportedly “at least” above Maryland’s legal limit of 0.08%, per PEOPLE.
According to The Minnesota Star-Tribune, court records show that Cori Clingman had a history of dangerous driving. She had been cited at least twice for speeding in the years before the fatal accident involving Khyree Jackson. One incident reportedly involved Clingman driving at 100mph in a 55-mph zone.
As for Clingman’s victims, Isaiah Hazel played college football at Maryland and Charlotte, while Anthony Lytton Jr. played at Florida State and Penn State, per ESPN. Their friend, Khyree Jackson, was one month away from his 25th birthday when he passed away. He never got the chance to play an in-season NFL game. The Vikings still honored his hard-earned spot by contributing $20,000 toward his funeral and paying out his $827,148 signing bonus to his estate, per PEOPLE.
