LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) — An elderly woman has learned her fate for her role in a 2022 crash in Lebanon Town Square that killed a young mother.
On Friday, Wilson County Judge Michael Collins sentenced Sandra Strickland, 73, to the maximum of 12 years in prison for vehicular homicide by intoxication in the death of 27-year-old Ashley Brewer-Bailey after a devastating wreck on April 25, 2022, in Downtown Lebanon. Additionally, she will have her driving privileges suspended for 10 years.
Under Tennessee law, vehicular homicide by intoxication is a Class B felony which is punishable by eight to 12 years in prison.
Strickland’s sentencing came after she entered an open plea in October, ending the trial.
Jason Lawson, 15th Judicial District Attorney General, told News 2 that the prosecution asked for the maximum sentence and several members of Bailey’s family testified about the impact that her loss has had on their family.
He said Judge Collins found that this vehicular homicide warranted the maximum sentence due to the time and place it was committed, the high speed involved in the crash and Strickland’s lack of remorse since then, feeling that a lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime.
“Ashley’s family is thankful to Judge Collins for imposing the maximum sentence and bringing as much justice as the law allows,” Lawson said. “No one should ever have to endure the loss that this family has suffered, and the family wishes that other people will see this case and decide never to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking.”
According to Lawson, Strickland will be transferred to the Tennessee Prison for Women to serve her 12-year sentence. By then, she will be 85 years old.
