A drunk driver who ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle in Wisconsin, killing five of her passengers, including four children, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison
MILWAUKEE — A drunk driver who ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle in Wisconsin, 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 murder charges in connection with the Milwaukee deaths last May. Prosecutors dropped six other charges against her in a plea deal.
Sandifer was traveling an estimated 80 miles per hour when she ran a red light in a minivan and collided with another vehicle and a pole, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. According to Assistant District Attorney Sara Sadowski, Sandifer’s blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.167, more than twice the legal limit.
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 some sense, it is not clear to me that you have taken full responsibility for the loss of five people,” Milwaukee County Judge David Swanson said.
Swanson said Sandifer has “significant rehabilitation needs.”
Sandifer will be subject to 15 years of extended supervision after serving the 25-year prison sentence.
Sandifer suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs in the crash, court records said. A sixth passenger, a 17-year-old girl, suffered life-threatening injuries. The driver of the car that was hit, a 32-year-old woman, was seriously injured, police said.