"I made a horrible decision:" Marcus Lee sentenced to 10 years in prison for crash that killed child
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- A Milwaukee County judge on Friday, July 29th sentenced 35-year-old Marcus Lee to ten years in prison and another ten years of extended supervision -- in connection with a fatal crash that happened near Sherman and Teutonia in Brown Deer on February 25th.
Marcus Lee
Lee did one thing right. He devoted himself to being a father figure to another man's children. But on February 25th, he did everything else wrong -- and it cost a three-year-old girl her life.
On the day of the wreck, Lee was driving with a suspended license in an unsafe car -- while he was drunk, stoned, distracted and speeding.
"I made a horrible decision," Lee told the court on Friday.
But according to Judge Joseph Donald, Lee's biggest mistake was doing it all with two little kids in the car.
"Not even buckled in a seat belt," the judge said in court.
"Instead, they were just loose in the back seat, unsecured as he drove at a .11 BAC at approximately 80 miles an hour in a malfunctioning car," said Karl Hayes, prosecutor.
Surveillance video shows vehicle driven by Marcus Lee prior to fatal crash at Sherman and Teutonia in Brown Deer
Surveillance video obtained from a nearby gas station shows the car blazing past on Sherman Boulevard near Teutonia just before he lost control.
"The vehicle began to tumble and flip multiple times, both children were ejected," Hayes said.
Three-year-old R'moni Little-Smith was killed in the wreck. Her four-year-old brother survived.
Fatal crash at Sherman and Teutonia in Brown Deer
"I have never lost a child, so I don't know that feeling. But, to be three years old and gone. I don't know what to say," said Karen Morgan, the victim's great aunt.
R'moni's great aunt said Lee just made some bad decisions -- and the girl's mom held back any harsh words.
"I don't hate him. I know it was a freak accident," said Starleshia Smith, the victim's mother.
Fatal crash at Sherman and Teutonia in Brown Deer
Starleshia Smith tells FOX6 News that Lee was a father figure from the day R'moni was born.
"It takes a lot for a man, you know, to take care of someone else's kids," Smith said.
"I'm never gonna be able to change what happened. But, forgive me," Lee said in court.
Smith tells FOX6 News that Lee does need to spend time in prison thinking about the mistakes he made. But she said she knows Lee is hurting too -- and that he is not a bad person.