Myrtle Beach woman sentenced in fatal DUI crash that killed St. Helena musician in 2016

A Myrtle Beach woman will spend more than a decade in prison for drunkenly crashing into another car and killing a man in Beaufort County.

On Thursday, Mary Ann German, 47, was convicted of DUI resulting in death, according to the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Her blood alcohol content was measured at .275 — more than three times the legal driving limit of .08. A Beaufort County judge sentenced German to 11 years in prison, the solicitor’s office stated.

Sher’mann Keel Palmer, a musician from St. Helena Island, died in the 2016 wreck on U.S. 21, according to the office. Palmer’s parents told the judge they forgave German and asked for mercy.

Around 12:30 a.m. on July 10, 2016., German drove a red Dodge pickup truck into a parked car in a parking lot at a Trask Parkway club, according to the solicitor’s office.

The car owner tried to convince German not to leave. German left the lot and drove through a stop sign. She accelerated on U.S. 21 when she hit Palmer’s Nissan Sentra.

Palmer was alive when first responders arrived, but died before he could be removed from the vehicle, the solicitor’s office stated.

German was taken from the driver’s seat and her husband was in the passenger seat. Neither suffered serious injuries, according to the solicitor’s office.

This story was originally published November 16, 2018 at 6:56 AM.