Courtesy of the Harris County District Clerk’s Office
A judge’s bench in a courtroom at Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
The sentencing phase of the trial began Friday for a Houston woman who was found guilty of manslaughter for striking and killing a pedestrian with her sports car in 2023.
Kristina Chambers, 34, was convicted by a Harris County jury Thursday in the April 2023 death of Joseph McMullin, 33, who was on a first date and walking on a Montrose-area sidewalk when he was hit by Chambers’ dark blue Porsche 911.
Manslaughter is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Chambers was still being held in the Harris County Jail as of Friday.
A wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by McMullin’s family is still working its way through the legal system.
Chambers’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
According to court documents, the collision occurred at approximately 2:28 a.m. on April 19, 2023, near the 1200 block of Westheimer Road. According to police, witnesses heard the sound of a car’s engine revving high, and upon going outside, saw a Porsche 911 that had appeared to have struck a curb, then a pole, and a pedestrian.
The driver was identified as Chambers and the pedestrian, McMullin, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to court documents. Police said Chambers was traveling westbound on Westheimer at a high rate of speed when she “failed to maintain a single lane of traffic and left the roadway.”
Chambers also appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time, according to police, who initially charged her with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle. That charge was dismissed in May, three months after a Harris County grand jury indicted Chambers on a manslaughter charge.