NEWPORT — A Claremont woman who killed one person and injured another in a car crash four years ago may be paroled earlier than expected after completing treatment programs in prison, according to court records.
Superior Court Judge Brian Tucker signed an order Monday to suspend the remaining six months of Amber King’s minimum 3½-year sentence. Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said the order doesn’t grant King’s immediate release, but does make her eligible for parole now, rather than in October.
King, 40, has been incarcerated since pleading guilty to negligent homicide and second-degree assault in 2017. Prosecutors have said King was under the influence of drugs when she crashed a car in 2016, killing passenger Amanda Grasso, 32, and injuring passenger Jody Metcalf.
“Her conduct and rehabilitative efforts while incarcerated have been exemplary,” Tucker wrote in his decision Monday.
He said King shows clear remorse for the harm she caused and that continuing to hold her in prison “serves no sentencing purpose.”
The decision comes after King filed a motion in February, asking for the remainder of her sentence to be suspended.
In the motion, King wrote that she has “completed and gone beyond” her classes in prison, including a parenting class, substance abuse classes, and mental and behavioral health classes. She wrote that she also undergoes “continuous counseling” and regularly attends church.
Hathaway didn’t object to King’s motion. In an interview this week, Hathaway said he had spoken with Grasso’s mother, who agreed King should be released to spend time with her children.
Metcalf’s mother did not agree with the decision because she says her daughter will never be the same, Hathaway said. He added that while Metcalf recovered and is self-sufficient and able to speak, she has “permanent limitations” as a result of the head injuries, but he declined to go into further detail.
He said he conferred with Metcalf’s mother because throughout the case, she has been the point person for the family.
“I gave weight to both positions, but I also gave weight to the nature of the injuries,” Hathaway said. He called the Grasso family’s decision “gracious” but added that he understands the Metcalf family’s decision as well.
“I told the court we supported the motion given the exceptional progress (King) has made while in prison,” Hathaway said.
The news comes almost exactly four years after the crash on April 23, 2016. Police have said King took heroin that day and also had other drugs in her system.
Around 1:30 p.m. King drove the car with passengers Grasso, Metcalf and her husband, Jacob King, down Route 130 in Claremont at one point going over 90 mph, according to police.
Outside of the Tractor Supply store, the car crossed into the westbound lane, hit an embankment and rolled over.
All four people were taken to Valley Regional Hospital, where Grasso died from head injuries and Jacob King and Metcalf were treated for serious injuries and released.
During her sentencing in 2017, King’s husband said the two had relapsed after a period of being sober, and called his wife a “good person.”
A message and phone call to King’s husband seeking comment were not returned Friday.
As part of the sentencing, a judge recommended that King complete counseling, treatment and education programs while in prison and that she be barred from applying for a driver’s license for seven years, according to a letter from the Department of Corrections, which was attached to King’s February motion.
In the letter, a DOC official wrote that King also completed six counseling and educational programs that weren’t required.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.