Teen Driver Due in Court

The teenage driver accused of vehicular homicide and drunk driving stemming from an accident in June that claimed the life of 18-year-old Jena Pothier of Oak Bluffs, is scheduled to be arraigned in Edgartown district court on Tuesday.

Kelly McCarron, 17, who graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School earlier this year, faces multiple felony charges of motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, as well as several civil violations.

A conviction for vehicular homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol, combined with a charge of operating to endanger, carries a mandatory prison sentence of two and a half years and up to 15 years in state prison.

The accident took place on June 11, three days before high school graduation, shaking the close-knit Island community where both girls and their families were well-known. Ms. McCarron was seriously injured in the crash.

She is being represented by Edgartown attorney Charles Morano.