On the morning of Dec. 10, 2007, Cpl. Mario Chavez was driving more than double the speed limit when he struck a car and killed then-junior criminology and criminal justice major Brian Gray on Belair Drive in Bowie.

He later admitted to drinking three or four beers and sleeping on friend’s couch the night before the accident.

His punishment: a $260 fine.

Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey, said prosecutors did not have enough evidence to meet the county’s high standards to charge Chavez with vehicular manslaughter. Instead, last Friday, the  police officer, also under suspension for a separate later incident, paid a fine for the speeding ticket and $34 in court costs. He will also receive three extra points on his driver’s license.

“In order to reach the high standard of vehicular manslaughter, you’d have to prove he was recklessly driving with disregard for human life and you’d have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his judgment was wrong in assessing weather conditions and speed and the time of day,” Korionoff said.

He said Ivey’s case for a manslaughter charge was obscured partly by a medical expert’s report that could not determine whether Chavez was impaired at the time of the accident, though the police officer did testify that he drank earlier that morning in a deposition for a separate civil suit.

But Korionoff added that “previous precedent has shown that drinking and driving are not solely enough to make the case for vehicular manslaughter.”

The Gray family has filed a civil lawsuit against Chavez, which is scheduled to go to trial next month. Brian Gray’s mother, Mary Gray, could not be reached for comment last night.

Her lawyer, Dana Paul, did not immediately return a phone call.

Tom Ponton, a close family friend, said the family may seek about $4 million in damages after a court hearing earlier this year.

The crash happened as Gray was making a left turn onto Belair Drive when his Chevrolet Beretta was struck by Chavez’s police cruiser, hurtling him 85 feet from the site of the collision. Gray was on his way to a final exam. Chavez was off duty.

Since her son’s death, Mary Gray has lobbied the state legislature to pass legislation that would make it easier to prosecute those accused of reckless driving.

A proposed bill would create a middle ground between a traffic citation and a felony vehicular manslaughter charge. Korionoff said Gray’s case gives a prime example of why it’s necessary.

“Traffic tickets aren’t enough,” he said. “As it stands now, the very high standard of vehicular manslaughter and criminal negligence does not provide prosecutors with a range of charges that would work in such cases as the Mario Chavez case … . We’re looking for a middle ground.”

slivnick at umdbk dot com