MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Monica Walker was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison for the drunk driving crash which killed her granddaughter.
Walker, 53, previously pleaded no contest to homicide by use of a vehicle while having a prohibited alcohol concentration for the Feb. 8, 2021, crash on I-43 which killed Tykia Brewer, 9.
Walker was also placed on extended supervision for six years by Judge Mark Rohrer. He also ordered her to make annual visits to schools to speak about her experience.
District Attorney Jaclyn Labre requested six years in prison, with six years on extended supervision. Labre noted Walker didn’t have a driver’s license, and had BAC of .103.
Due to a previous OWI conviction, Walker’s BAC legal limit was .02, instead of the usual .08.
Defense attorney Michael Griesbach said the crash was crashed by inattentive driving – she was eating at the time – during wintry weather, but not necessarily because of her drinking. Griesbach asked for the judge to find that there were extenuating circumstances to avoid mandatory five-year minimum prison term.
Walker’s daughter – the victim’s mother – did not speak in court. However, Griesbach read a letter from her in court, asking for no prison time because it was an accident.
Walker was emotional as she apologized.
“I take full responsibility for the loss of my granddaughter. I wanted to see her blossom into a beautiful young lady. She was the only girl, so I spoiled her a little bit more,” Walker said. “What I’ve been going through is so hard. Every day, I can’t believe this happened. I take full responsibility. I loved her so much.”
Judge Rohrer said there are too many situations where good people find themselves in these situations due to drinking and driving. But it’s still an intentional choice to drink and drive, resulting in too many senseless deaths.
While he imposed less than the presumptive minimum, Walker’s previous record, including an OWI, Judge Rohrer said that meant he couldn’t go substantially below the five years.
“I know you get it that you did wrong. I believe you know it that you did wrong, and you were totally sincere. But we’ve got to stop this. My hope is that when you’re done with this that you’ll probably be the biggest preacher out there to get people to start using their damn heads and not drink and drive,” the judge said.
The maximum penalty would have been 40 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Walker and Brewer were driving to Green Bay to pick up Walker’s daughter, who is Brewer’s mother. She said hit an icy patch on I-43, lost control of the car, and it rolled over. Brewer, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and died. The crash happened at about 8:40 a.m.
Walker said she started drinking about 9 p.m. the night before. She had a couple of beers at home, then went to a bar. She had a “few” pints of apple vodka, but stopped drinking around midnight. She said the crash was caused by her eating a hamburger while driving and the icy conditions, not because of the alcohol.
