Drunk teen driver kills 2 friends in Ashwaubenon crash, sentenced to 12 years

Laney Peters, 21, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after a drunk-driving crash in Wisconsin killed two friends and seriously injured her younger sister.

Wisconsin woman sentenced to 12 years for drunk-driving crash that killed two friends

A 21-year-old Wisconsin woman will serve 12 years in prison after drunkenly driving her car into a tree on State Highway 172 in Ashwaubenon, killing two passengers and seriously injuring her teenage sister, Law & Crime reports.

Laney Peters pleaded no contest in June to two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and one count of injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, in connection with the crash that occurred at approximately 5:51 a.m. on June 24, 2024. Peters was 19 years old at the time.

In the car that morning were two of her friends — 19-year-old Mee-Mingwa Phillips and 18-year-old Emma Daniels — her 16-year-old sister, and a dog.

A car airborne at high speed

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the vehicle "perpendicular to the roadway," smashed into a tree along the side of the highway. Car parts had been scattered across multiple locations, including the parking lot of a nearby Best Buy store.

Two large divots in the road indicated that the car "was probably airborne and landed at least twice before striking a tree and coming to rest propped up against another tree," according to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WLUK. Investigators noted the vehicle had been traveling at a "very high rate of speed."

Phillips and Daniels were pronounced dead at the scene. Peters' sister sustained serious injuries. The dog also died.

Peters claimed she was not "buzzed"

Peters admitted to investigators that she had consumed approximately three or four drinks before getting behind the wheel, but maintained that she was not even "buzzed" when the group set off. A blood test administered six hours after the crash returned a blood alcohol concentration of 0.064. Police concluded that at the time of the crash, her BAC had exceeded the legal limit of 0.08.

Victims' families speak at sentencing

At her sentencing hearing, Peters addressed the court and said, "I will carry this tragedy on my shoulders every day."

The families of the two victims offered no such grace. Emma Daniels' grandmother, Emmy Mayo, told Peters directly: "Everyone was screaming at you to slow down," before adding, "God says to forgive, but there are things in this world that just can't be forgiven, and you are one of them."

Daniels' mother, Brooke Big John-Ramos, said Peters' choices that night had taken everything from her daughter — "a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a friend, and everything she would have been."

Mee-Mingwa Phillips' grandmother, Lois Franklin, told the court she harbored intense anger toward Peters. "I heard Mee-Mingwa cry out 'Slow down!' and she didn't listen," Franklin said. "I hope that she finds it in her heart to change her ways."

Sentence and conditions

Peters received a sentence of 12 years in prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release. As conditions of her release, she is required to maintain sobriety and is prohibited from contacting the families of her victims.

Source: Law & Crime