Mother sentenced to nine months in drunk driving incident

MILWAUKEE -- A judge has sentenced a Milwaukee mother convicted of driving drunk when she flipped her SUV with 11 kids inside. The judge sentenced Akira Kirk to nine months in a Huber facility with another five years of probation.

Kirk was driving on northbound I-43 in June 2011 near 10th St. when she hit a wall and flipped the vehicle. Of the 11 children in the SUV, seven were Kirk's.

"You put every one of us at risk by you operating that what vehicle in your condition, not to mention the 11 kids in your car," said the sentencing judge Friday.

Akira Kirk made statements in court. She said, "I would like to say on that date, I made a tragic mistake."

Court papers say deputies smelled alcohol on Kirk and her eyes were bloodshot in the moments after the wreck. A field alcohol test registered a blood alcohol concentration of .16; twice the legal limit in Wisconsin.

In court Friday, Kirk said she found out she was going to be laid off from her job about a month before the crash. Her mother says her daughter had been dealing with stress.

Kirk says she became distracted trying to stop children in the back seat from arguing and fighting.