Bodycam footage shows the shocking moment a college student smiled during a DUI test after she killed two victims in an Illinois drunk driving crash.
Stephanie Melgoza, 24, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday for the deaths of Andrea Rosewicz, 43, and Paul Prowant.
She pleaded guilty to four felonies for aggravated DUI and aggravated reckless driving in February.
Four lesser chargers were dismissed earlier this year in exchange for a guilty plea, the Pekins Daily Times reported.
Melgoza struck and killed them in a DUI crash on April 10, 2022, while they were crossing the street near Full Throttle bar in East Peoria. Megoza.
The then-Bradley University student was three times over the legal limit and failed every field sobriety test.
According to DailyMail, she admitted to officers that she had three vodka and waters and had cannabis in her purse.
In bodycam footage, released on Saturday, Melgoza can be seen manically smiling at the police officer as she giggles her way through a light test.
After being asked to ‘touch the tip of my pen’ to indicate she understood the assignment, the young woman proceeded to move her head back and forth, rather than 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 steady her moving head.
Despite bracing herself, she continuously failed to stay still, all while doing so with a wide smile on her face.
Earlier in the evening, she told police officers after they examined her busted-up car, that she ‘called as soon as this s**t happened.’
In court on Thursday, the former college student told the jury: ‘I have not drunk since that day. I do not plan on drinking ever again.
‘I want to try to do something positive to make a difference, speak out about this and warn others about the dangers that come with drinking.
‘I’m so sorry for everything, and I will never, ever commit anything like that again.’
After police arrived on scene in April 2022, bodycam footage showed her red Dodge Dot’s hood with a large dent in the center and she admitted to police that she was ‘just getting her night started,’ despite already being three times over the limit.
She started her night at Tavern 41 and was heading to Full Throttle when the accident happened.
After placing her purse on the hood of the squad car, she admitted to having marijuana on her, but said she had not yet smoked any that night. She also had a vape tucked in the bag.
