Man sentenced for Lincoln’s deadly Memorial Day weekend crash

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Omaha man who caused the deadly Memorial Day weekend crash on O Street last year has been sentenced.

On Thursday, Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman sentenced 20-year-old Kyvell Stark to at least 21 years in prison.

On May 29, 2022, Stark was driving down O Street under the influence of marijuana.

He reached nearly 90 mph just before crashing into another vehicle, sending both cars into a crowd of people.

Two women — 20-year-old Emily Siebenhor and 22-year-old Edith Hermosillo — were killed, and 20 other people were injured and sent to the hospital.

SEE ALSO: Witness recounts ‘chaotic’ scene after crash that left 2 dead, 20 injured in Lincoln

In September, Stark cut a plea deal and pleaded guilty to amended charges of manslaughter and DUI causing serious bodily injury.

At the sentencing, McManaman said Stark’s actions were completely avoidable.

“You just turned your car into a weapon and ended two young lives, two young people who had certainly decades ahead of them,” he said. “There are no words really to express the loss and the tragedy for everyone here.”

Stark’s attorney, Mike Bianchi, said that his client came from a broken home and that he’s not an “evil man,” just young and inexperienced.

“It’s just a sad deal all the way around,” he said. “This was a lose-lose situation for everybody. My client had no other history with the criminal justice system – granted he’s only 18 at the time – but he was a good young man who just decided to do what some typical 18-year-olds do.”

Stark expressed remorse at the sentencing.

“I was wrong in the decisions I chose to make at the time,” he said.

Prosecutor Ryan Decker read statements from the victims’ family and friends.

“Kyvell Stark took the lives of two young, vibrant, beautiful souls that night,” he said while reading one letter. “He may have remorse now, but he was not thinking about anyone but himself when he chose to recklessly drive in an impaired condition. There’s no sentence that can ever compare to never getting to see Edith and Emily again. They are gone forever.”

Stark will be eligible for parole after 10½ years because of Nebraska’s good time law.

His driver’s license will also be revoked for 15 years.