A North Carolina woman was sent to jail and given probation for the car crash that killed Alexis Danielle Brown-Johnson of Grand Rapids.
Brown-Johnson was 15 at the time of her death. Her aunt, Melissa Schichtel, said she’d been called Lexi by the family and also gone by Danielle or just D.
According to court records, Alyssa Kay Stark, 21, now of Mebane, N.C., was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 11, by Allegan County District Court Judge Joseph S. Skocelas.
She pleaded guilty to one count of operating while intoxicated and no contest to one count of a moving violation causing death.
Skocelas sentenced her to 90 days in jail and two years on probation, along with a $2,225 fine.
As part of probation, she must spend 30 days on an anti-alcohol tether after release from jail, complete an alcohol assessment, a victim impact panel and abstain from all alcohol and drugs.
Schichtel said Brown-Johnson’s family were at the hearing and expressed outrage about the length of the sentence.
“We’re just disappointed because it was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor,” Schichtel said. “We were told there were no charges prior and then we found out at the hearing that wasn’t the case; she had a drug charge and caused an accident.”
Schichtel, of Kingsley, said, “I about fell out of my chair when I heard the priors.”
Schichtel said she thought that a sentence of a year in jail would have been more appropriate for the crime and record.
She said she hoped the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office would continue to investigate the incident because of information brought out in court that a passenger in the vehicle might have also contributed to the accident.
Stark, then of Grand Rapids, was driving a car southbound on US-131 in Wayland Township on March 19 about 2:40 a.m.
She lost control and slid off the expressway into a ditch, where the car rolled over and landed on 12th Street, which runs adjacent to US-131 at that point.
Brown-Johnson was killed after she was thrown from the car. Two passengers suffered minor injuries.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.
.