NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A former Navy sailor has been sentenced to 12 years in prison following a DUI crash in September 2021 that left one person dead.

According to police, 25-year-old Alexis Whitehead was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter, causing the death of another by racing, DUI causing significant and permanent injury, and DUI.

The charges stem from an incident on September 5, 2021, off of Hampton Boulevard. Police say Whitehead was with a group of friends in the parking lot of a Norfolk hookah lounge when another person revved his vehicle and prompted Whitehead’s friend to ask if the man wanted to race.

Alexis Whitehead (Photo Courtesy: Norfolk Police Department)

Whitehead and a caravan of cars then headed southbound on Hampton Blvd. in the direction of the bridge that crosses Lafayette River. Whitehead began racing with another car and was passing other vehicles in the caravan at an extremely high rate of speed while crossing the bridge.

One of Whitehead’s friends in the car yelled for her to slow down, however, she did not respond and continued driving her vehicle at a high speed, police say.

She then lost control of the car and overcorrected at the bench in the road near the intersection of Hampton Blvd. and Manchester Ave, which resulted in the car hitting the curb and going airborne.

Police say the car then crossed the opposite lanes of traffic, knocked down a tree, and snapped a utility pole into three pieces before coming to a stop.

The Event Data Recorder from Whitehead’s car recorded that she was driving at 132 miles per hour seconds before the impact.

Due to the force of the crash, all of the passengers in Whitehead’s car were thrown around inside the vehicle and ended up in the back seat. 23-year-old Nitanjae Terry was partially ejected through a rear window.

Moments after the crash, the car caught on fire and was extinguished by a bystander. Whitehead did tell police she had been drinking earlier in the day and paramedics say they could smell alcohol on her breath. Her blood alcohol level was later determined to be .159.

All of the passengers in the vehicle were transferred to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Terry suffered the most serious injuries and later died at the hospital.