Man sentenced for fatal 2022 hit-and-run

WORCESTER CO., Md. – A Worcester County man has been sentenced for the hit-and-run death of a woman in October of 2022.

On October 6, 2022, troopers were called to Grays Corner Road for a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. The victim, Terri Wattay, was found lying unresponsive in the grass beside the roadway. Wattay was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she died as a result of her injuries.

During the investigation, police found a passenger side mirror and reflective side marker lying in the middle of the road before finding a white Chevrolet Suburban parked in a nearby driveway, missing a side mirror and reflective marker. Troopers made contact with a man, identified as 63-year-old Russell Kimball, who told police that he had driven home from a local diner earlier that evening and had swerved to avoid hitting a dog in the roadway. Kimball failed field sobriety tests and a breath test showed his blood alcohol content was .12.

Investigators were able to obtain receipts from the diner that showed Kimball had purchased six shots of vodka and two beers before driving home that evening. Witnesses reported to police that Kimball knew he had hit a woman with his truck, and that a few minutes after the crash, he tried to convince his roommate to lie about who was driving. It was determined that Wattay had been left seriously injured and lying on the side of the road for at least 39 minutes while Kimball was at his residence, never calling for help or trying to render aid to Wattay.

Kimball was convicted of negligent homicide while under the influence and failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving death. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years behind bars, with all but 5 years suspended and 5 years of supervised probation on release.