Ashley Kroese sentenced to 8 years for car crash that killed Brentwood police officer
Ashley Kroese, the Thompson's Station woman charged in the 2020 death of a Brentwood police officer, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday.
Kroese was previously found guilty on four charges, including vehicular homicide by intoxication.
She will be eligible for parole after 30% of the sentence is served.
On June 18, 2020, Kroese drove on the wrong side of Franklin Road and crashed her vehicle into a police cruiser, killing Destin Legieza, a Brentwood police officer. A blood test administered after the crash found her blood alcohol content was 0.166%, which is double the legal limit.
Several members of Legieza's family, including his widow Heather Legieza, spoke through tears at the hearing on Wednesday.
The family was given the opportunity to directly address Kroese from the stand as they read written statements aloud, occasionally looking upward at Kroese, who sat 20 feet away behind a wooden table.
"Ashley, I don't think you intended to kill anyone that day," Heather Legieza said. "But you moving forward with the trial when you know what you did was with intention, you should have just taken accountability for your actions."
Kroese wore an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs and wiped tears from her eyes as members of Legieza's family spoke.
"Instead you made me relieve his death in slow motion during the trial," Heather Legieza continued. "I had to listen to every detail, to see every picture, watch every video, and I couldn't even grieve privately because everything makes the news. It's been extremely hard trying to find a new normal, and you have intentionally made it harder by dragging this out."
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Kroese, who did not testify at the February trial, read from a prepared statement after others had spoken.
"I can't pretend to understand what you have been going through. I've never lost a husband, a son or a brother, and nothing I can say is able to ease your pain, but I am truly and deeply sorry," Kroese said.
"I am also aware that I can seem cold. I am anything but cold. I am devastated about what happened. No one is prepared to face such a thing in life, and if I'm honest, I just don't even know how to react. There is no appropriate reaction to that."
Kroese's charges included vehicular homicide (intoxication), vehicular homicide (0.08 percent alcohol consumption or greater), vehicular homicide (reckless conduct) and reckless aggravated assault resulting in death, and carried a sentencing range from 8-12 years.
Legieza's parents and one of his co-workers in the Brentwood Police Department also spoke at the hearing Wednesday. Each said they hoped Kroese would receive the maximum sentence.
"No matter what that sentence is, I know and have to accept that you will once again have your freedom -- something that my son will never have, because you took that away from him," Scott Legieza, Destin Legieza's father, said. "This is insulting to me and all other survivors of our loved one that was killed as a direct result of your selfish and egotistical decisions."
At Kroese's trial in February, her defense attorneys argued that there was not sufficient proof she was drunk when her vehicle struck Legieza's.
On Feb. 18, the jury found her guilty on all charges.
Cole Villena covers Williamson County at The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach Cole at cvillena@tennessean.com or 615-925-0493. Follow Cole on Twitter at @ColeVillena and on Instagram at @CVinTennessee.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ashley Kroese sentenced for car crash that killed Brentwood officer
