Melrose Place Actress Back In Jail After Fatal Somerset DWI Crash
MONTGOMERY, NJ — "Melrose Place" actress Amy Locane returned to jail for the second time after crashing into a Montgomery couple and killing a woman in 2010.
Locane was re-sentenced to 8 years in prison on Thursday for a second-degree vehicular homicide conviction more than 5 years after she was released from jail.
She will also go to prison on a fourth-degree assault by auto conviction, according to her Somerville-based attorney James Wronko.
Locane had originally been sentenced for 3 years in prison in 2013 and served two and half years of her sentence before being released from prison on parole in June 2015.
Locane was also ordered to serve three years of parole after her release.
Her early release, however, drew an outcry from the family's survivors and prosecutors. Indeed, Somerset County prosecutors appealed the sentence to an Appellate Court, saying it was too lenient.
The court agreed, and re-sentenced Locane to 8 years in prison.
Under the No Early Release Act, Locane will have to serve 6 years 9 months and 22 days in prison before being eligible for parole. Locane's previous time served in 2013 will count towards the new sentencing.
Currently, Locane is being held in Somerset County Jail where she will remain due to COVID-19 before being moved to state prison, Wronko said.
"I believe the sentencing was grossly unfair," Wronko said. "The trial judge totally ignored the fact that for 10 years she has done everything the court has asked and more."
Wronko pointed to Locane's efforts to become a speaker and go to local colleges and high school, such as Hillsborough, to speak about the dangers of drunk and distracted driving.
"She fully served her 3-year sentence, came home, began bonding with her children again and, after more than five-and-a-half years, she now is going back for an additional 5 years. Even though she completely served her sentence," Wronko said.
Wronko has filed a petition with the New Jersey Supreme Court for double jeopardy since she had already completed her sentence in 2015 and also because he feels the state shouldn't have been allowed to appeal the sentence.
Wronko said he will appeal the decision as well but doesn't have high hopes for it since the same judge, state Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski, handled all three of Locane's previous cases.
"She will probably handle the appeal and we would be totally wasting our time," Wronko said.
The crash occurred on June 27, 2010 when Fred and Helene Seeman were returning to their Montgomery Township Home from a nearby restaurant. As the couple turned onto the driveway of their home, their vehicle was broadsided by a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe being operated by Locane, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.
Driver Fred Seeman (then age 62) had serious bodily injuries that included seven fractured ribs and a punctured lung. Passenger Helene Seeman (then age 62) was pronounced dead at the scene, Robertson said.
Locane, who sustained minor injuries, was immediately arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and taken to a nearby hospital for a blood-draw.
An investigation had found that Locrane was speeding 53 mph in a 35 mph zone with a blood-alcohol level of about .230 percent at the time of the crash, Robertson said.
Additionally, before the crash, Locrane also had fled a minor hit-and-run at the traffic light at Route 206 and Cherry Valley Road in Princeton, Robertson said.
Locane was also previously sued and settled a nearly $4.8 million settlement in a lawsuit in relation with the crash. Half of the settlement was paid to Helene's and Fred's son, Curtis Zucker Seeman, a quarter to Fred and the remaining quarter to Fred as the administrator of his wife's estate, according to nj.com. Read More: Melrose Place Actress Settles $4.8M In Montgomery Death: Report
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This article originally appeared on the Hillsborough Patch
