Albany, NY – 23-year-old Shajaine Foskey-Gause of Cohoes was sentenced to 2 and 1/3 to 7 years in State Prison before the Hon. Thomas Marcelle in Albany County Court this afternoon.

On December 29, 2023, Foskey-Gause pleaded guilty to One Count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in satisfaction of the full indictment, which included a second count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, and four counts of Assault in the Second Degree.

The indictment alleged that on or about July 17, 2020, Foskey-Gause, while acting in concert, recklessly caused the death of Najee Parks and Naquain Key on Central Avenue in the Town of Colonie.

Specifically, the defendant is accused of racing another vehicle on Central Avenue and, driving recklessly at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone, which caused her vehicle to crash into another car. That collision killed the occupants of the uninvolved vehicle, and injured the passengers in the defendant’s vehicle.

Wanda Key, Naquain Key’s mother said:

“Shajaine Foskey-Gause is not a child, and for anyone to say ‘Oh, it was just an accident’, what would you do if it were your child or loved one… This girl didn’t, and I still believe doesn’t have, any remorse for her actions”

ADA Mary Tanner-Richter said:

“There are 9 sentences in her ‘apology’ letter, and in those 9 sentences, there were 19 times the defendant used the words ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’. She has made this entire incident about her. At one point she says ‘the part that she played in this’ and that she was ‘fresh out of high school’… She was a 20-year-old adult who made the decision that night to drive over 100 miles per hour in the rain.”

Judge Marcelle said:

“You made a very, very stupid decision on that July night, with absolutely horrifying results. You cut down two fantastic young men.”

Linked here are two videos (Video 1, Video 2) produced by the family of Najee Parks, in remembrance of him.

Assistant District Attorney Collin D’Arcy, and Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Mary Tanner-Richter handled the prosecution of this case.