Families of two teens killed in 2024 DUI crash push back on 11-year sentence for driver
A Chicago woman was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Thursday for a drunk driving crash that killed two teens in 2024.
The victims' families said they don't think that's enough time, and believe the system failed them every step of the process.
The families of Erik Cox and Shaelyn Sherwood said they have a problem with the amount of time Ashanti Gates will end up spending behind bars, because she'll get credit for time served and other factors, and they believe that is not justice.
"Every birthday, every holiday, every family gathering reminds us that he is missing," said Erik Cox's sister, Naomi.
Erik Cox and Shaelyn Sherwood, both 18, were killed on June 2, 2024, as they were changing a flat tire on the shoulder of the Eisenhower Expressway near Paulina Street.
Gates, 21, was behind the wheel of the car that hit them around 3 a.m. Her 4-year-old son was one of four passengers in her car at the time.
Prosecutors said Gates was driving 22 mph over the speed limit, with her headlights off, and a bottle of vodka and plastic cups in her car. Her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
"It has been really rough. That was my only sibling, and we lost our mom in 2012 by murder, so it's another process for us that I don't want to go through," Cox's sister said.
Despite all that, Gates will serve only a fraction of the time behind bars that the victims' families wanted. They wanted Gates to face 10 years behind bars for each of her victims, or 20 years total.
After Gates pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI, Cook County Judge Pamela Stratigakis on Thursday sentenced Gates to 11 years in prison. As part of her plea, prosecutors also agreed to drop reckless homicide and child endangerment charges against Gates.
Gates will get credit for more than 3 years she spent either in jail or on electronic monitoring before she was sentenced, meaning she'll spend less than four years in prison for each victim.
"She broke that curfew several times. She had come to court late several times. She failed drug tests. She got warning after warning, but there was always it was next time. Next time, if this happens, but nothing ever happened," said Cox's godmother, Naomi Chavarria.
Court records show multiple curfew violations and failed drug tests for Gates, as well as one instance when she failed to report to a court-mandated evaluation.
"It's hard to have belief in the system when there are judges who allow stuff like this to happen, and I do, I blame a lot of it on the judge. She had full control, and she allowed all of this," Cox's sister said.
Gates has 30 days to rescind her guilty plea and go to trial instead, but the victims' family members hope this is their last day in court.
