Lincoln man sentenced in traffic deaths

Kenneth Rex Latham

A Lincoln man was sentenced to 16 years in prison this week by Talladega County Circuit Judge Julian King.

66 year old Kenneth Rex Latham,  was convicted of two counts of manslaughter by a jury in late March. He had been indicted for murder, but the jury also considered not only the manslaughter charge but also a charge of criminally negligent homicide.

Latham was convicted of causing the deaths of 28 year old Filemon Reyes Santiago,  and 23 year old Areli Jacinto,  when he struck their vehicle head on with his on Alabama 21 in Winterboro in 2013. Jacinto was pregnant at the time of the wreck. 

Witnesses said Latham had been driving erratically for some time before the collision. Four young children in the car with Santiago and Jacinto were injured but survived the accident. Latham himself was also injured.

Although there were two bottles of wine in Latham’s car at the time of the wreck, there was no alcohol in his blood, according to medical evidence presented at trial.

He did have levels of hydrocodone and methadone within the therapeutic range in his blood at the time, although he had prescriptions through the Veteran’s Administration for both drugs. He did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident.