CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cleveland woman was sentenced to 31 years in prison today for driving drunk and causing a car accident that killed two people and seriously hurt three children.
Takara Kelley, 27, was driving a Chevy Trailblazer 78 mph in a 25 mph zone on Franklin Avenue when she drove through a red light at West 74th Street, slamming into Luis Vasquez's car Feb. 6, according to authorities. Vasquez and the front-seat passenger, Juanita Gonzalez, 65, also died.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Russo sentenced Kelley after she pleaded guilty last month to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault and drunken driving.
Steve Gall, the assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor who handled the case, said Kelley had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Blood tests also revealed that she had been using cocaine and marijuana in the hours prior to the crash.
"To say that the crash was devastating is an understatement," Gall said.
David Nittskoff, Kelley's attorney, said Kelley knew the victims. He said Kelley has been contrite and remorseful.
"It has been very traumatic on all levels," Nittskoff said. "There aren't words to describe how badly she feels about what happened."
Gall, the prosecutor, said a black box, similar to those in planes, was taken from Kelley's Trailblazer. It found that she was driving 78 mph a second before she ran the red light and plowed into Vasquez's car. The Vasquez car then struck a telephone pole. The prosecutor said Kelley did not apply brakes before the crash.
Vasquez's grandchildren were in the back seat. Sheila, 12; Jose Luis, 10; and Samshare, 7; suffered serious injuries.
Kelley didn't have insurance nor did she have a valid driver's license, Gall said.
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