She Was Pregnant and Drunk When She Plowed into Group of Pedestrians, Killing 2. Here’s What Survivors Said to Her

A Michigan woman who was pregnant and intoxicated when she drove into a large extended family — killing two people and injuring several others — has been sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Ashley Monroe, 36, pleaded no contest in August to eight counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious injury and one count of second-degree murder, WILX reported.

According to the Lansing State Journal, Monroe was driving on May 18, 2024, when she struck a group of extended family members walking from a home to a nearby park in Wacousta Township. The crash killed 30-year-old Johnathan Esch and 42-year-old Daniel Harris. Fourteen others — including eight children — were hospitalized, ABC13 reported.

Authorities said Monroe continued driving for about two miles before being pulled over by Clinton County Sheriff’s deputies, per the State Journal. Inside her vehicle, deputies discovered a nearly empty pint bottle of whiskey in her purse and two pill bottles, according to testimony from an earlier hearing.

Monroe, who was pregnant with her fifth child at the time of the crash, WJRT reported, appeared emotional during sentencing.

“This family is going to have to live with memories of this terrible tragedy for the rest of their lives,” Circuit Judge Cori Barkman said during the hearing, according to the State Journal.

Several victims and family members spoke in court, describing the lifelong impact of the crash.

“Ashley, you made me a 28-year-old widow,” Esch’s wife, Erika Glatz, said in court, according to WILX. “Working in the medical field myself, I know good people can make horrible mistakes. I can understand and empathize with someone who has made a mistake. But Ashley, this was not a mistake. You chose to drink while pregnant. You chose to drive. And perhaps most vile of all, you chose to run over an entire family and flee.”

“Make no mistake, what you did was murder,” Esch’s mother, Dee, said, per the outlet. “You are a murderer.”