Woman Gets 25 Years in DUI Crash That Killed 5

Judge questions whether driver has 'taken full responsibility' for the loss of life
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 19, 2024 5:22 PM CST
Driver Gets Prison in DUI Crash That Killed 4 Children, 1 Adult
   (Getty/Alex_Schmidt)

A drunken driver who sped through a red light in Wisconsin and smashed into another vehicle, killing five of her passengers including four children, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison. Anteyona Sandifer, 21, pleaded guilty in January to five homicide charges related to the deaths in Milwaukee last May. "I just want to apologize for my actions," Sandifer tearfully told the court at the time, per WISN. Prosecutors dropped six other felony charges against her in a plea deal, the AP reports.

Sandifer was driving an estimated 80mph when she drove a minivan through a red light and collided with another vehicle and hit a pole, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said. Sandifer's blood-alcohol content was 0.167, more than twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash, said Assistant District Attorney Sara Sadowski. Relatives of the victims—a 1-year-old girl, two 15-year-old girls, a 17-year-old boy, and a 32-year-old man—said Sandifer and her passengers had attended a party before the crash. "While you have taken responsibility in a sense, it's not clear to me you've taken full responsibility for the loss of five people," Milwaukee County Judge David Swanson said.

Sandifer, whom Swanson said has "significant rehabilitative needs," will be subject to 15 years of extended supervision after completing the 25-year prison sentence. She suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs in the crash, court records said. A sixth passenger, a 17-year-old girl, survived after suffering life-threatening injuries, per the AP. The driver of the vehicle that was struck, a 32-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries, police said.

(More fatal accident stories.)

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