A Tucson woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in a fatal crash west of Tucson that left a migrant from Guatemala she was smuggling dead, officials say.
Sunshine Michelle Betters, 47, was already on supervised release for a separate people-smuggling conviction n June 2021 when she crashed on the Tohono O'odham reservation with two migrants in her vehicle, said a news release Tuesday from the US Attorney's Office in Arizona.
The crash happened on Arizona 86 when Betters sideswiped a truck and crashed into a tree, killing one of the two migrants in her vehicle, the release said.
Federal investigators said Betters was "severely intoxicated" when she drove the migrants for "financial gain." Betters also was driving fast before the crash because she falsely believed she was being chased by the Border Patrol, the release said.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps sentenced Betters last week to 120 months in prison for transporting a migrant that resulted in death. Betters also was sentenced to an additional 11 months in prison for violating her federal supervised release for a prior people-smuggling conviction, the release said.
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