Andrea R. Crespin was sentenced to over 22 years in prison for a wrong-way crash in Arizona that killed her toddler and injured several others. During the sentencing on September 23, the 32-year-old also received a decade of probation after her release, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The incident, which occurred on August 14, 2022, involved Crespin driving against traffic on Interstate 10 near Vail, AZ. Her vehicle, a Mazda sedan, crashed head-on into a Toyota sedan. In the aftermath, Crespin's 2-year-old daughter, who had not been secured in a safety seat, was pronounced dead at the scene. Crespin, herself, and two adults in the other car sustained serious injuries, although two children in the Toyota and the driver of another involved Volkswagen sedan escaped unharmed. Following the crash, testing disclosed Crespin's blood alcohol level to be three times above the permissible limit.
Detectives and troopers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety gathered evidence, including witness statements and data from Crespin's Mazda, to establish probable cause for charges against her. She was found and arrested in July 2023 at an apartment in Chandler and faced a 16-count felony indictment.
As the legal proceedings progressed, Crespin entered a guilty plea for charges including manslaughter, aggravated assault, and DUI. Her sentence, handed down more than two years after the fatal collision, consisted of 12 years for manslaughter, 10 for aggravated assault, and an additional four months for DUI to be served back-to-back, as stated by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The department, while expressing their condolences to the victims' families, emphasized their commitment to holding individuals accountable for endangering others through reckless actions.
