The wives of the Pennsylvania State Troopers who were killed in a deadly DUI crash on I-95 in South Philadelphia in 2022 joined Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Kranser to discuss the recent guilty plea and sentencing of the woman responsible for their deaths on Tuesday.
Last week, Jayana Webb, 23, was sentenced to spend at least 27 years behind bars for her role in the crash that killed two state troopers and a pedestrian.
Webb pleaded guilty to striking and killing Pennsylvania State Troopers Martin F. Mack III, 33, and Branden T. Sisca, 29, as well as 28-year-old Reyes Rivera Oliveras on Interstate 95 near the Broad Street exit on March 21, 2022.
While speaking to the press on Tuesday, the troopers' wives took time to thank the troopers and attorneys that have been part of the process since their husbands' untimely deaths.
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"It's been a whirlwind," said Stephanie Mack, wife of fallen Trooper Mack. "That evening, lives were changed."
She noted that the pair have two daughters and, she's looking forward to the day when she can tell them that the woman who killed their father is behind bars.
However, though Webb pleaded guilty to three counts of 3rd degree murder, three counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and one count of driving under the influence, as part of the plea deal, her prison time has been delayed due to her being pregnant.
Mack's widow said that she's looking forward to February when Webb's sentence is expected to begin.
For Brittany Sisca, the wife of fallen Trooper Sisca, there are more hurdles to climb ahead. She was six months pregnant with their daughter when her husband died and she said Webb's actions have left her alone as a single mother.
"My daughter will never get the chance to even know who her dad was. He never held her. He never saw her," she said.
However, she said, she hopes Webb's sentencing serves as a way to show others who might engage in drunk driving that their actions have consequences.
"Please just be carful," she said. "Because it saves families like us from going through what we went through."
The crash that took the lives of the two state troopers happened around 12:40 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-95 near Lincoln Financial Field on March 21, 2022. Sources told NBC10 the troopers had just pulled over Webb when they received a call about a man who was walking on the highway. They then left Webb as they responded to the man.
The two troopers spotted 28-year-old Rivera Oliveras walking on the highway. As they tried to get him into their vehicle, a driver, who officials identified as Webb, drove up to the scene and tried to use the shoulder of the highway to get around them.
Webb hit all three men, police said. The impact was so great that it threw the two troopers and Oliveras into the northbound lanes of I-95, police said.
Police said Webb remained at the scene, her car badly damaged, and was later taken into custody. Her alcohol level at the time was twice the legal limit of .08 BAC, according to police.
In March of 2022, Webb gave a post-Miranda Rights statement to officers that she had been drinking “strawberry Henny” -- referring to Hennessy Cognac -- prior to the crash, the Philadelphia District Attorney's office said.
Walker argued that his client was very young, a first-time offender and posed no danger to the public.
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