2 Killed, 14 Injured After Drunk Driver Allegedly Hits Family Walking Along Road

A pregnant mother of four has been charged with multiple felonies, including drunk driving, after authorities said she crashed into a group of relatives walking on the side of a Michigan road, killing two men and injuring 14 other people before fleeing the scene.

Johnathan Esch, 30, and Daniel Harris, 42, were declared dead at the scene of the crash, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday. A 38-year-old woman remains hospitalized in critical condition, and five other people remained hospitalized, although their injuries were not considered life-threatening, sheriff’s officials said. The victims, including eight children, range in age from 2 to 61.

The group was on their way to visit the grandparents of extended family members when they were struck at about 6:30 p.m. in Watertown Township, northwest of Lansing, authorities said.

The driver, Ashley Monroe, 35, was alone in the car when she was stopped by deputies about three miles from the scene, sheriff’s officials said in a statement Saturday night. Investigators said they found an open, “mostly empty” bottle of whiskey in her purse in the car. Her blood alcohol content was .183, more than twice the legal limit, according to testing performed at the jail, authorities said.

Monroe is charged with 11 felonies related to the accusation that she caused a fatal hit-and-run accident while intoxicated. The formal charges include two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, two counts of failure to stop at a scene of a crash when at fault causing death, six counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and one count of failure to stop at the scene of a crash resulting in serious impairment or death.

Prosecutors said Monday that additional charges could be filed. The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing. 

According to court documents read by the judge, the officer who stopped Monroe minutes after the crash said he saw her drive off the roadway, through the grass and then cross the center divider.

“Her car was located with severe damage to the front passenger side, consistent with witness statements, as well as blood, hair and other tissue on her vehicle,” assistant prosecutor Debra Martinez said at Monroe’s arraignment, which was streamed by WILX-TV and WLNS-TV in Lansing.

Monroe works full time as a clerk at the Michigan secretary of state’s office, her attorney, Ronald Zawacki, told the court. She lives with her fiancé and children, ages 1, 7, 11 and 13, he said, and has no criminal history.

Esch was a firefighter and paramedic with the Lansing Township Fire Department. In January, the LTFD posted wedding photos on Facebook of him and his “beautiful bride, Erika,” congratulating the couple on their marriage.  

“We wish you many, many years of happiness,” the fire department wrote. “Erika, welcome to the LTFD family.”

Erika Esch was also injured in the crash, WILX reported.

Daniel Harris was married with four children, according to the West Lansing Church of Christ, which said it is accepting donations for the families to help defray medical and other expenses. A community prayer vigil was scheduled to be held at the church on Wednesday evening.

The judge set Monroe’s bond at $1 million, twice the amount requested by prosecutors. Her next court date is scheduled for May 30. 

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