A drunk driving Nebraska mother been sentenced for the 2024 deaths of her three children and an elderly man.
KGNS News reported that on Wednesday, Rachel Brickerstaff, 34, was sentenced by Douglas County District Court Judge Moll Keane to between 140 and 180 years in prison, with her first possible parole hearing after 70 years, following a plea deal. Brickerstaff was convicted of four counts of motor vehicle homicide for her September 2024 arrest, with the charge of DUI causing serious bodily injury dropped because of the plea deal.
In September 2024, Brickerstaff caused a crash near 10th Street and Douglas Street in Omaha. Investigators reported that Brickerstaff, who was intoxicated at the time, reached speeds of 142 mph before running a red light at close to 100 mph.
Brickerstaff slammed her vehicle into 70-year-old Michael Sales’s car when she ran the red light, killing the man who was on his way home from work, according to Law&Crime.
Brickerstaff’s three children, identified as a 5-year-old, an 18-month-old, and a newborn, were in the vehicle at the time. All three childrem died.
Her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit, registering .216 according to court documents.
After sentencing, Brickerstaff gave a statement expressing her deepest apologies, saying, “Sorry will never be enough,” and wishing she could die in the victims’ place.
“I can say over and over how sorry I am, but that would never change the situation,” Brickerstaff said. “The hurt and pain I caused, I wish I could take it back. I would trade my life for all the lives lost.”
Sales’ daughter gave a statement about her mother making the call concerning her father’s death.
“I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to pick up the phone and call my sister and me to tell us that our hero was gone. I dropped to the floor of my living room screaming. It felt like my soul had left my body. That moment shattered everything.”
While in jail waiting for her hearing, Brickerstaff got into an altercation with her cellmate.
In May, she was charged with assault of a confined person for the altercation.
[Feature Photo via Douglas County police]
