Ashley Monroe, in yellow jumpsuit, cries during her sentencing as Erika Glatz, in gray, speaks at the dais. Monroe killed Glatz”s husband and another man in a drunk driving crash (WILX/YouTube)
A Michigan mom who drove into a crowd of pedestrians, hitting 16 people — including two fatally — as they walked to a park for a day of fun that turned into a tragedy is headed to prison for decades.
Ashley Monroe, 36, was sentenced to 30 years to 60 years behind bars for the May 2024 crash in Watertown Township, about 15 miles northwest of Lansing. Monroe had pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and eight counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious injury.
The victims — who were all part of the same extended family — were walking from a home to a nearby park, something they had done countless times. But that all changed when Monroe came barreling down the road, slamming into the victims.
The defendant, now a mother of five as she was pregnant at the time of the crash, had a blood alcohol content level of 0.183, which is more than twice the legal limit, and a mostly empty bottle of Crown Royal in her purse along with two bottles of antidepressants, prosecutors said.
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Family members of victims Johnathan Esch, a 30-year-old firefighter, and 42-year-old Daniel Harris — who were brothers-in-law — spoke emotionally about the immense impact the deaths have had on their lives during the more than 2-hour sentencing hearing.
“Ashley, you made me a 28-year-old widow,” said Esch’s wife, Erika Glatz, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WILX as Monroe wiped away tears.
Glatz said she would have understood if Monroe had made a mistake.
“But, Ashley, this was not a mistake,” Glatz said. “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.”
Esch’s mother also spoke.
“Make no mistake, what you did was murder. You are a murderer,” Dee Esch sneered.
Monroe did not make a statement but her attorney said she was remorseful.
Circuit Judge Cori Barkman said the impact of the incident is far and wide.
“This family is going to have to live with memories of this terrible tragedy for the rest of their lives,” Barkman said, per the Lansing State Journal.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the incident happened shortly before 6:30 p.m. May 18, 2024, on South Wacousta Road near Corrison Road. After crashing into the victims, Monroe drove away before Clinton County Sheriff’s deputies stopped her about three minutes later. Her car had heavy front end damage and cops found hair, blood and tissue belonging to the victims, said assistant prosecutor Debra Martinez.
Esch and Harris died at the scene. Paramedics rushed the 14 other victims, ranging in age from 2 to 61, to the hospital. Nine suffered serious injuries, deputies said.
Monroe is a mother of five children, who at the time of the crash were ages 13, 11, 7 and 1, and delivered another while she was in jail. She worked at the Michigan secretary of state’s office for about a year and a half, her attorney said.
