Background: Rachel Bickerstaff in court in Douglas County, Nebraska (KETV/YouTube). Inset: Michael Sales (Cutler-O’Neill-Meyer-Woodring Funeral obituary)
This week, a Nebraska woman showed remorse during her sentencing for driving under the influence, which resulted in the deaths of four people, including three of her own children. Despite this, she is expected to spend the rest of her days in prison.
In Douglas County District Court, Judge Molly Keane sentenced Rachel Bickerstaff, 34, to a maximum term of 180 years, with an opportunity for parole after 70 years, as reported by Omaha-based KMTV.
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“The severity of this crash cannot be overestimated,” Keane said on Wednesday as Bickerstaff appeared before her. Bickerstaff had been charged with four counts of motor vehicle homicide for the fiery crash that occurred last fall, and she reportedly pleaded “no contest” in March, having a fifth charge of DUI causing serious bodily injury dropped as part of her plea agreement.
Bickerstaff had a prior DUI conviction, according to Douglas County Department of Corrections records. She also was given an additional charge of assault in May — when authorities said she attacked her cellmate in jail, per WOWT.
The deadly crash took place on Sept. 27, 2024, near 10th and Douglas streets, right in the heart of Omaha. According to investigators, Bickerstaff reportedly reached a top speed of 142 mph — more than five times the speed limit — and ran a red light going over 100 mph when she hit and killed Michael Sales, 70, who was on his way home from work.
Bickerstaff also killed her three children, ages 5 years, 18 months, and 11 days old. It is unclear who the injured party was alluded to in the charge of DUI causing serious bodily injury.
Bickerstaff’s blood alcohol level was .216, authorities said, nearly three times the legal limit, KETV reported.
A prosecutor at Wednesday’s hearing described how the scene of the crash has had “lasting trauma” on the first responders who witnessed its aftermath.
“It’s a barometer to tell this court just how bad this is when officers and firefighters who have seen so much in the line of duty are affected by the lasting trauma of what they witnessed that night,” the prosecutor said.
Sales’ daughter, Laura Sales, said she “dropped to the floor of my living room screaming” when she received the call that her father was dead, WOWT reported. “It felt like my soul had left my body. That moment shattered everything.”
“We never got to say goodbye,” she added in the courtroom on Wednesday amid sobs. “The crash was so violent, we weren’t even given the chance to see his body. Instead, we were given his ashes. How do you make peace with that? How do you live with the images of the burning wreckage and the constant haunting thoughts of what his final moments might have been like?”
She asked the court to deliver a sentence that would make sure another family would not be burdened with such tragedy. “I’m here today because my dad can’t be. I speak because his voice was stolen, and I ask this court — I beg this court — to deliver a sentence that reflects the weight of what was taken from us.”
Bickerstaff said she regretted “the pain and hurt I caused.”
“I wish I could take it back. … I would trade my life for all the life lost.”
Bickerstaff’s defense attorney reportedly told the judge that she had had a difficult childhood, suffering abuse and having started drinking alcohol and doing meth at age 12. The judge stated she believed her remorse was real, KMTV reported, but that the chance of her reoffending was also high.
“It is difficult to imagine a case with worse facts,” she said.
