A week before he was scheduled for trial, a Sykesville driver pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to negligent manslaughter after he struck and killed a Glen Burnie pastor while under the influence of methadone.

Kevin James Pickett, 43, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to negligent vehicular manslaughter and driving while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance. The Carroll County resident was arrested and charged last May after his Ford Crown Victoria veered off Route 10 and crashed into a car on the side of the road.

Tramellia Nicole “Lady Nikki” Wright-Fox, a co-pastor of The Lord’s Church of Deliverance in Baltimore, pulled over because of a flat tire and was standing on the shoulder when Pickett struck her and her car. The collision caused Wright-Fox’s Hyundai to crash into a Dodge van, whose owner had pulled over to assist her.

The pastor, who served her church as its first lady with her husband Alvis Fox Jr., was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 47.

Witnesses told police Pickett was struggling to stay in his lane before the crash, even crossing into the shoulder.

During their investigation, officers found an empty gel capsule with off-white residue in the Ford driver’s seat, according to charging documents. Though Pickett denied using drugs, he failed a sobriety test and later admitted to taking methadone.

At the time of the crash, Pickett had a pending impaired driving charge in Carroll County and had been previously convicted of drug possession and other traffic offenses.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 16.