Amarilloan charged with manslaughter

Excerpt

Prosecutors have charged an Amarillo woman on two manslaughter counts in a January crash that killed two teens, court records show.
Caroline Patricia Nygaard, 51, was charged with the second-degree…

Prosecutors have charged an Amarillo woman on two manslaughter counts in a January crash that killed two teens, court records show.

Caroline Patricia Nygaard, 51, was charged with the second-degree felonies Tuesday.

Nygaard was driving more than 90 mph in a 50 mph zone when her SUV struck a car, killing Kaylin Necole Pearson and Kerniece Johns, both 19, according to the criminal complaints.

About 1:25 a.m. Jan. 22, Pearson was traveling west in a white Cadillac in the 2700 block of West Amarillo Boulevard when she turned left at North Florida Street in front of an eastbound 2005 Chevy Tahoe, police said. The Tahoe smashed into the passenger side of the car, police said.

Pearson and her passenger, Johns, died at the scene, police said. Nygaard, who drove the Tahoe, and her passenger Jason Tarpley, 25, were unhurt.

If convicted, Nygaard could face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each charge.