Woman gets prison term for deadly drug-fueled Cumberland County wreck
A Harnett County woman, who was high on methamphetamine and fentanyl when she struck another vehicle on Ramsey Street in 2022, killing the other driver, was sentenced to prison Monday.
Rhonda Kay Vann, 50, of Dunn, pleaded guilty to felony death by a vehicle in the killing of Malinda Laury Blackmon, 54, of Linden. She was sentenced to between four and six years in prison. In exchange for the plea. charges of misdemeanor driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license and driving left of center were dismissed, the record states.
Superior Court Judge Jessica Locklear also recommended Vann receive substance abuse treatment while in prison.
Related: Dunn woman jailed in fatal DWI wreck in Cumberland County last year
According to the accident report, just before 10 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2022, Vann was driving northbound on Ramsey Street in a 2012 Chevrolet Cruz when she crossed the center line near Rachel Street and struck Blackmon's southbound 2006 Chevrolet Aveo head-on.
Blackmon was pronounced dead at the hospital. Vann was knocked unconscious and the passenger she was with sustained minor injuries. The toxicology report states that Vann had methamphetamine, amphetamine, fentanyl and the sedative bromazolam in her blood.
The court record notes that Vann has filed an appeal and could be released on $500,000 secured bail while awaiting the appeal court's ruling.
Blackmon's obituary states she worked at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Fayetteville.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Rhonda Vann was sentenced for fatal 2022 crash on Ramsey Street
