Pregnant Mom of Four Charged in Connection with Drunk Driving Crash That Killed 2, Injured 14 Family Members
Ashley Monroe, a mother of four, was reportedly pregnant and driving drunk when the crash happened, officials said.
A suspected drunken driver was arrested after she plowed into a large group of pedestrians in Michigan, killing two people and injuring 14 others, all from the same family, authorities said.
The collision occurred shortly after 6 p.m. on May 18 in the area of South Wacousta Road near Corrison Road in Watertown Township, a suburb northwest of Lansing, according to the Clinton County Sheriff's Office.
According to the sheriffs office, the mother-of-four driver, who is pregnant, struck pedestrians walking along the shoulder of the road before she fled the scene.
Deputies reportedly found two pedestrians, later identified as Johnathan Esch, 30, and Daniel Harris, 42, dead at the scene, and fourteen other victims were transported to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.
On May 19, the sheriff's office confirmed all of the victims were "known to each other as family."
A 38-year-old woman was hospitalized in critical condition. The 13 other victims, including eight children ranging in age from 2 to 16, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect, who was identified as 35-year-old Ashley Marie Monroe, was stopped by deputies several miles from the scene of the collision and taken into custody.
Prosecutors said her blood alcohol level was .18, twice the legal limit, and they found a mostly empty pint bottle of Crown Royal in her purse.
Monroe was charged with 11 felonies in the incident, including operating under the influence causing death and leaving the scene of an accident, WLNS reported.
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On May 20, prosecutors asked for a $500,000 bond at Monroe’s arraignment. However, her attorney cited her four children — ages 13, 11, 7 and 1 and “another on the way” — and asked for a lower bond.
The judge set her bond at $1 million and scheduled a probable cause hearing for May 30.
TMX contributed to this report.
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