This is the shocking moment a college student smiled during a DUI test after she killed two victims in a drunk driving accident in Illinois.
Stephanie Melgoza, 24, of Farmington, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday for the deaths of Andrea Rosewicz, 43, of Avon, Ohio, and Paul Prowant, 55, of Seattle.
She pleaded guilty to four felony counts of aggravated DUI and aggravated reckless driving in February. Four lower-level chargers were fired earlier this year in exchange for a guilty plea, the Pekins daily times reported.
Melgoza punched and killed them in a DUI crash on April 10, 2022, as they crossed the street at the Full Throttle bar in East Peoria. Megaza.
The then student of Bradley University was three times over the legal limit and failed every sobriety test. She admitted to officers that she had three vodka and waters and had cannabis in her purse.
In bodycam footage released Saturday, Melgoza can be seen smiling manically at the police officer as she giggles her way through a light test.
Stephanie Melgoza, 24, of Farmington, was seen smiling manically during her field sobriety test moments after she struck and killed two people while driving down a roadway at 40 mph on April 10, 2022
When asked to follow the light with only her eyes, she failed. “It’s really hard, it’s really hard,” Melgoza laughed before grabbing her own face to stabilize her moving head. Despite bracing herself, she continually failed to stay still, doing so with a broad smile on her face
After being asked to “touch the nib of my pen” to indicate that she understood the instruction, the young woman moved her head back and forth instead of just her eyes.
“Just your eyes,” the officer reminded her.
“It’s really hard, it’s really hard,” Melgoza laughed before grabbing her own face to stabilize her moving head. Despite bracing herself, she continually failed to stay still, doing so with a broad smile on her face.
Earlier in the evening, after investigating her broken-down car, she told police she called “as soon as this happened.”
The 24-year-old seems more shocked that the event happened to her in the first place, telling the officer, “I’m going to Bradley, why should this happen to me?”
Bradley University is a private school in East Peoria and costs about $36,000 per year. It was about 15 minutes away from where the accident happened.
She was four weeks away from graduating from college at the time of the incident, she told officers.
In court, the former student told the jury on Thursday: ‘I haven’t had a drink since that day. I don’t intend to drink ever again. I want to try to do something positive to make a difference, speak up about this and warn others about the dangers of drinking.
“I’m so sorry for everything, and I’ll never do anything like that again.”
Melgoza was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday for the deaths of two people
Andrea Rosewicz, 43, of Avon, Ohio, and Paul Prowant, 55, of Seattle, were murdered in April 2022
After police arrived at the scene in April 2022, bodycam footage showed her red Dodge Dot hood with a large dent in the center and she admitted to police that she was “just getting started on her night” despite having already crossed the border three times. limit was.
She started her night at 41 Tavern and was on her way to Full Throttle when the accident happened.
After placing her bag on the hood of the patrol car, she admitted to carrying marijuana, but said she had not smoked that evening. She had also put a vape in the bag.
Recalling the events, Melgoza said one of the victims “walked in front of me” as she drove to Full Throttle and said her “car got hit.”
“Someone said, ‘Oh, someone else got hit.’ And I said, ‘Oh my God, how did that happen?’” she said. “They came out of nowhere because I’m a safe driver.”
She estimated she “went at least 40.”[mph]when she punched Rosewicz and Prowant.
She also told officers she “thinks I would pass” if I took a sobriety test.
“Don’t try me,” she quickly corrected. “But I think I would pass.”
She admitted that she had her last drink 40 minutes ago at Tavern 41.
On her sobriety test, she blew a 0.264. She was immediately arrested afterwards.
While in hospital to be treated for her injuries, she started singing to the officer because it was getting “too quiet.” When he scolded her and reminded her that she killed two people, she simply asked when she could go back to Bradley University.
Melgoza blew a 0.264 and was three times over the legal limit. She admitted to cops enjoying vodka and water before killing the two
After being handcuffed and placed in the back of the squad car, she denied hitting both people and told officers, “I didn’t.”
“However you want to say it to yourself, that’s fine,” the officer told her. “But I’m just telling you, two people were hit by your vehicle and both are dead.”
Police took her to the emergency room to tend to her bruises from the cracked windshield. While in the ER, she happily told police that someone would “take her to Vegas” and that she would “spend at least $500 and I’m going to start with two Long Islands.”
“Haven’t you had enough to drink yet?” the officer asked.
She also told the officer while he was on the phone, “I swear to God if you’re Snapchatting right now and I’m not, I’m going to be so mad.”
Melgoza also sang to the cop when it “got too quiet.”
When she asked the officer when she would be able to go back to school, he rudely explained to her that she had killed two people and would not be returning to school any time soon.
‘[Your] totally careless about killing two people tonight,” he told her. “You don’t care, that’s sad and apathetic and horrible all at the same time.”
Shortly after the crash, students held a memorial for the two victims and protested, angry at Melgoza being allowed to attend her graduation despite the charges she faced.