Stephanie Melgoza DUI Case: Bodycam, Sentence, and Appeal

The Stephanie Melgoza DUI case involves a Bradley University senior who struck and killed two pedestrians outside an East Peoria, Illinois bar on April 10, 2022, while driving with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. Melgoza, then 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI and aggravated reckless driving and was sentenced in April 2023 to 14 years in prison. The case drew worldwide attention after police bodycam footage showed her smiling, giggling, and asking about her graduation while officers told her two people were dead.

What Happened the Night of the Crash

Around 10:15 p.m. on April 10, 2022, Melgoza was driving her red Dodge Dart on an access road off North Main Street in East Peoria when she struck two pedestrians outside the Throttle Bar and Grill.¹ Both victims died at the scene from multiple blunt force injuries: Paul Prowant, 55, of Avon Lake, Ohio, and Andrea Rosewicz, 43, of Seattle, Washington.² The impact was so severe that a victim’s severed leg was later found lodged in the vehicle’s grille.³

Melgoza told officers she had consumed three vodka drinks before driving and admitted she was traveling about 40 mph in a 30 mph zone.⁴ Her blood alcohol level tested at .264, more than triple the .08 legal limit.³ The responding officer, East Peoria Police Officer Jeffrey Bieber, noted slurred speech, red and watery eyes, and a strong smell of alcohol. She failed a field sobriety test. Inside the car, officers found an open bottle of Tito’s vodka on the floor along with a small bag of marijuana and a hitter pipe.

The Bodycam Footage That Went Viral

The video recorded by Officer Bieber became the reason this case reached a worldwide audience. On camera, Melgoza smiled, giggled, sang, and danced during and after her field sobriety tests. When the officer checked her eyes, she snickered and said, “It’s so hard keeping my head straight.” She laughed while being handcuffed.⁵

She watched without visible emotion as first responders tried to resuscitate the victims. She told officers the pedestrians “came out of nowhere” and called herself a “safe driver.” Told she had killed two people, she said, “I feel like I’d be crying. I feel like I’d be like, ‘Oh, my God. I did this.'”⁵ Instead of asking about the victims, she asked about school: “So, I don’t go to school tomorrow is what you’re telling me?” and “I graduate in four weeks — is this going to affect anything?”⁶

At the hospital she talked excitedly about an upcoming birthday trip to Las Vegas (“There is no limit in Vegas, right?”), said she could not wait to join the “DUI Club,” and asked for her phone to text coworkers she claimed had prior DUIs.⁶ Officer Bieber confronted her: “You’re on body camera being completely careless about killing two people tonight. You could care less. That’s sad and pathetic and horrible all at the same time.”³

The Law and Crime Network published the footage on April 30, 2023, three days after Melgoza’s sentencing. It spread rapidly on TikTok and was picked up by outlets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and South Korea.⁷

The Bradley University Graduation Dispute

Melgoza was weeks from graduation when she was arrested, and had completed all required coursework. When her name appeared on Bradley’s approved-graduates list after the arrest, student protests, a vigil on the steps of Bradley Hall, and chalked messages followed, and the university removed her from the list.⁸⁹ According to defense attorney Kevin Sullivan, Bradley’s president ultimately decided she would not be permitted to walk at commencement because it would be a “distraction,” but was entitled to receive her diploma because she had completed her classes. She received the degree but did not participate in the May 2022 ceremony.

The Guilty Plea and 14-Year Sentence

In February 2023, Melgoza entered a blind guilty plea, meaning no sentence was agreed upon in advance, to four felony counts: two counts of aggravated DUI causing death and two counts of aggravated reckless driving. Four lesser charges were dropped in exchange.¹⁰ The case was filed in Tazewell County Circuit Court as case number 22CF195.¹¹

On April 27, 2023, Tazewell County Judge Tim Cusack sentenced her to 14 years in prison. Aggravated DUI causing death carries a range of 3 to 14 years per count under Illinois law, so with two deaths her maximum exposure was 28 years. Prosecutors asked for at least 20; the defense asked for less than the eventual 14.⁴¹²

The sentence broke down as 14 years on each aggravated DUI count and 3 years on each aggravated reckless driving count, all running concurrently, plus 2 years of mandatory supervised release. She was ordered to serve at least 85% of the 14-year term. She received credit for two days in the Tazewell County Jail and roughly four months of home confinement served after the SAFE-T Act took effect on January 1, 2023.¹⁴

What the Victims’ Families Said

Relatives urged the maximum sentence. Sherri Hutchinson, Andrea Rosewicz’s sister, told Melgoza: “You have destroyed multiple families with your selfishness.” She said no words could “even remotely come close to inflicting pain and suffering on you… that you have inflicted on me, our families, and Andrea’s friends.”¹³ A relative of Paul Prowant told the court Melgoza had chosen to drive from bar to bar and should be held responsible for ending “the beloved lives of Paul Richard Prowant and Andrea Lynn Rosewicz.”¹²

What the Defense Argued

Sullivan cited several mitigating factors: Melgoza called 911 herself, cooperated with authorities, had no prior criminal history, held both an associate’s and bachelor’s degree, and had strong family support. He said she had not consumed alcohol since the crash while wearing an ankle monitor and was pregnant at the time of sentencing, having married the child’s father to arrange custody. He argued a long prison sentence would harm the child, and that the intense media coverage had already “vilified” her.¹² Melgoza herself apologized in court: “I’m so sorry for everything, and I will never, ever commit anything like that again… I never meant to hurt anybody.”¹³

The Judge’s Reasoning

Judge Cusack said the system required him to balance punishment and rehabilitation. He recognized the lack of criminal history, the cooperation with police, and the pregnancy as mitigating, but relied on deterrence as an aggravating factor. He stated that social media hostility toward Melgoza had “no bearing whatsoever” on the sentence.¹² He acknowledged the sentence would satisfy no one: “I don’t expect this sentence to please anyone, but I believe it is the most just.”⁷

The Appeal

Melgoza appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District. In a ruling issued September 5, 2024, the court partially agreed with her but left the 14-year sentence untouched.¹²

She argued the duplicate convictions violated the “one-act, one-crime” doctrine, since the two DUI counts and two reckless driving counts all arose from a single act of driving. The court agreed and vacated one aggravated DUI count and one aggravated reckless driving count, leaving a single conviction for each.¹¹

She also challenged how Judge Cusack applied sentencing factors, including his use of deterrence, references to a federal highway safety study, his handling of her pregnancy, and the victim impact statements. The court rejected each argument, finding deterrence a permissible aggravating factor and the judge’s outside references “inconsequential” personal observations rather than improper private research. The 14-year sentence on the remaining aggravated DUI conviction was affirmed.¹²

Where Melgoza Is Now

Melgoza is incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections.¹² Under Illinois truth-in-sentencing rules, she must serve at least 85% of the 14-year term, roughly 11 years and 11 months, before becoming eligible for release. Two years of mandatory supervised release follow.¹

1
WCBU. Former Bradley Student Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Fatal DUI That Killed 2
2
Cleveland 19. Northeast Ohio Resident Killed After Being Hit by Suspected Drunken Driver in Illinois
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Fox News. Illinois Student Smiles, Giggles After Killing Couple in DUI Crash
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Central Illinois Proud. Woman Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for DUI Crash That Killed Two
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Bakersfield Now. Body Cam Footage Shows Woman Smiling, Laughing After Killing 2 People in Crash
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FOX 5 Atlanta. Illinois Student Smiles, Giggles After Killing Couple in DUI Crash
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Pekin Times. Police Video of Illinois Woman Stephanie Melgoza DUI Inciting Outrage
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The Bradley Scout. Melgoza Sentenced to 14 Years After Fatal DUI
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25 News Now. Bradley Student Charged in Connection With Pedestrian Deaths Will Not Walk at Graduation
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25 News Now. Local Woman Pleads Guilty to Killing 2 People
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vLex. People v. Melgoza
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Illinois Courts. People v. Melgoza, 2024 IL App (4th) 230659-U
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Pekin Times. Peoria Area Woman Receives 14-Year Prison Sentence for Fatal DUI Crash