Friday, March 10th 2023, 6:42 pm
The family of Aundreanna Williams gathered at a roadside memorial to her, shortly after the young man who killed her was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Williams died in a high-speed crash at Apache and Yale in Tulsa.
Miguel Romero was convicted of manslaughter and DUI, after a jury heard testimony that he was drag racing, while drunk and high, leading to a crash that was streamed online, with the deadly aftermath recorded and shared on social media.
Williams died at the scene and her friend, Ashley Sledge, was left with a severe brain injury and has not fully regained consciousness since the May 15, 2021, crash.
“People say it gets better with time. You lose a child and then tell me it gets better with time,” said Atronda Williams, the mother of Audreanna.
"Every day is a struggle. Every day is one day at a time,” said Audreanna's father, Darnel Wright.
Romero was sentenced to 30 years in prison and briefly apologized in court, which the victim’s family said was the first remorse they had seen.
“It was like none of that until today, when he's getting sentenced, and he shows remorse today,” said Wright.
Tulsa Assistant District Attorney John Tjeerdsma prosecuted the case, and urged the judge to run the two sentences, 20 years for manslaughter and 10 years for the DUI, consecutively.
The judge agreed, after hearing victim impact statements from the families.
“It was very emotional. It's tough to hear those statements. You could tell they impacted a lot of people they impacted, including five children who will grow up without their mothers,” said Tjeerdsma.
The family was satisfied with the sentence, but said the death has left them otherwise empty.
"No matter how much time he serves, it doesn't change nothing. She's still gone,” said Williams’ mother.
Romero's attorney, Brett Swab, told News On 6 that his client "made a poor decision but he's not a bad kid."
Swab said that Romero was not in fact drag racing but that he did run a red light and had approximately two beers in his system with the presence of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
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