A Wichita woman has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a fatal crash downtown that killed two people in May, 2019.
27-year-old Mia Collins pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder in connection with the crash. Police said Collins was driving a stolen SUV that crashed into two other vehicles at Douglas and Broadway on May 5th, 2019. Police had been chasing the SUV before the crash.
The crash killed 70-year-old Maria Wood and her 12-year-old granddaughter, Rosemary McElroy. They were the mother and niece of local musician Jenny Wood, who was critically injured in the crash. The driver of the second vehicle that was hit, Alfred Angel, was also injured.
Speaking to the court, Wood said she and her brother are living off a small percentage of the money from a wrongful death settlement with the City of Wichita over the chase. Angel also spoke to the court and said he still suffers from the injuries he received, but he feels lucky to be alive. Wood said Collins is not an evil person and Angel said he feels no ill well toward Collins.
Collins apologized to the family during the sentencing hearing Thursday and said she will continue to live with the pain and suffering she has caused. In addition to the 25-years-to-life sentence, Collins also was given 38 months on other charges.
