'It changes lives,' says friend of Canton woman killed in wrong-way drunken-driving crash

One of Lisabeth Dayton’s best friends remembers her as crazy, kind and fun.

Another friend recalls how the Canton woman, who went by Lissa, always made her laugh.

Both are still mourning the loss of Dayton, 41, who died after a wrong-way crash in May 2022 on an Akron freeway.

“All of us are changed forever,” said Becky Woods, 41, of North Canton. “We’ll never be the same.”

Woods and Kimberlee Dudley shared memories of Dayton outside the Summit County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon before Jessica Skinner, the woman arrested in the fatal crash, was scheduled to plea.

Skinner, 22, of Akron, pleaded guilty in Summit County Common Pleas Court to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, second- and third-degree felonies, and one count of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Skinner, who was left paralyzed from the crash, did so while sitting in a wheelchair, wiping away tears and trying to hide her face from cameras.

Judge Alison McCarty will sentence Skinner on Oct. 11. She could get up to12 years in prison and a lifetime driver’s license suspension.

This is one of several wrong-way crashes on highways in the Akron area in recent years that resulted in serious injuries and deaths. That includes a wrong-way crash in October 2020 that left a Wayne County man dead.

Larry Dean Miller of Lake Township was sentenced in August 2021 to seven to 10½ years in prison; it was Miller’s fifth drunken driving conviction.

More: Lake Township man sentenced to prison for fatal wrong-way crash on Akron highway

Dayton dies a day after wrong-way crash

The crash involving Skinner and Dayton happened about 11:40 p.m. May 12, 2022, on Interstate 76 West near the Innovation Way exit.

Police said Skinner’s Nissan Altima hit Dayton’s Buick LeSabre head on while going the wrong way on the highway. Skinner drove onto the interstate in the wrong direction at the nearby Arlington Street ramp.

Dayton, 41, died the day after the crash from a stroke at Summa Akron City Hospital after being taken there with serious injuries, including bone fractures, from the crash.

Skinner also was seriously injured and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Prosecutors say Skinner had a blood-alcohol level of 0.245 percent, which is three times Ohio’s legal limit for driving. This was her first drunken-driving charge.

McCarty ordered a presentence investigation of Skinner by the probation department. She set Skinner’s sentencing further out to allow her time to attend several medical appointments.

Attorney Tom Bauer is representing Skinner.

Dayton’s family and friends want Skinner to do prison time

Dayton, who was the head chef at Ray’s Place in Kent, was on her way home to Canton when the crash happened.

Dudley said police were aware that there was someone driving the wrong way, but they weren’t able to get there in time. She said she drove the route and realized that, with a bend in the highway, her friend wouldn’t have seen the car coming toward her at a high rate of speed until it was too late.

“There was just no way,” she said.

Dudley said she appreciates Skinner taking responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty rather than going to trial next week. She said she also knows Skinner was seriously injured in the crash but said that’s “not a big enough price for us.” She and Dayton’s other loved ones would like to see Skinner get a significant prison sentence.

“We’re serving a lifetime,” Dudley said.

Dayton left behind two children and six grandchildren, with a seventh on the way. She didn’t get to meet two of her grandchildren who are twins.

Lesson to be learned from crash

Dayton’s friends hope others will learn from the crash that took her life.

“Just don’t drink and drive,” Dudley said. “It changes lives.”

“You’re taking a risk — and not just with your own life,” Woods agreed.

Dudley said she doesn’t understand why anyone would allow someone who was as intoxicated as Skinner was that night to drive.

Woods said Skinner made a choice and now will have to live with the consequences of that choice.

The two friends said they won’t forget Dayton, whom they’d known since seventh grade. They look at her pictures, swap stories and toast her when they get together.

“It’s hard,” Woods said.

Woods and Dudley hugged each other and wept before heading into the courthouse.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jessica Skinner pleads guilty in wrong-way crash that killed a woman