GILLETTE (WNE) – A woman who ran into a semitruck on Interstate 90 after getting on the wrong on-ramp will spend up to 14 years in prison.
Mary Jane Steele, 52, was sentenced to five to seven years in prison for aggravated assault and battery related to the crash.
Those are to be served consecutively to a probation revocation of four to seven years in prison for forgery. She has been credited with more than two years of time already served between the two charges.
She also must pay $26,700 in restitution to GT Express out of Mohena, Illinois, for damage to the semitruck.
Steele reportedly took a woman’s 1999 Buick LeSabre on Jan. 20, 2019, after being told she couldn’t use it. Soon after that theft was reported, the car was seen in the Boot Hill Nightclub parking lot before it took off northbound on Gurley Avenue and went into the opposite lane, nearly colliding with a truck near Little Powder River Road.
She took off on Northern Drive and then Garner Lake Road, where her speeds were estimated at up to 80 mph, according to the affidavit.
She then got onto the wrong on-ramp onto I-90 at Garner Lake Road and collided head-on with a semitrailer.
She had substantial injuries from the crash, according to court documents. Before she was taken to Denver to be treated for the injuries, she told police that she had “depression,” according to the affidavit.
Three dogs were with her in the car and one died at the crash, which led to a misdemeanor conviction for cruelty to animals. Two other dogs were taken to the Animal Shelter.