Strickland pleads guilty in Lebanon Square crash that kills Tennessee mom, ending trial

The woman accused in the death of a 27-year-old wife and mother in a Lebanon town square more than two and a half years ago made a public plea Friday, ending a trial that began last week.

According to 15th Judicial District Attorney General Jason Lawson, 73-year-old Sandra Strickland pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter. Ashley Bailey died in an accident on April 25, 2022.

DUI homicide is a Class B felony punishable by eight to 12 years in prison, with sentencing set for Dec. 10, Lawson said. An open plea, which essentially admits guilt without a plea deal with prosecutors, carries the full range of punishment at sentencing, Lawson said. Judge Michael Collins is presiding over the case.

Other charges against Strickland were DUI first offense, two counts of reckless endangerment and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

A charge of leaving the scene of an accident was filed because prosecutors said Strickland was involved in a crash earlier than the one involving Bailey.

Only charges of homicide by vehicle while intoxicated will be prosecuted. According to Lawson, the lesser charge of intoxication manslaughter is effectively absorbed by the intoxication manslaughter charge.

“The family was very pleased, especially in light of the fact that she made an open plea and will be sentenced as if she had been convicted by a jury,” Lawson said.

The trial began with jury selection on October 16, and opening arguments were heard on October 19. Prosecutors argued that Strickland was under the influence of alcohol, which caused the crash.

Strickland’s defense argued that the medical emergency should be considered the cause of the crash, with missteps in how responders handled the incident.

Defense attorney Donnavon Vasek declined to comment on the case because the sentencing has not yet been announced.

Strickland left Chili’s Bar & Grill in Lebanon shortly before the crash, prosecutors said. A civil lawsuit related to the case alleges that Lebanon Chili’s employees knowingly sold alcohol and allowed Strickland to leave before the accident occurred.

Bailey graduated from Central Magnet High School in Rutherford County in 2013.

Family members said that as a child she played basketball and loved horses and walks in nature. Police said Bailey’s 3-year-old son, who was in the car at the time of the fatal crash, was treated and released from a local hospital.

About 1,200 jurors were summoned to the trial. Wilson County Circuit Court Clerk Debbie Moss said.

In the end, twelve jurors and four alternates were selected.

Contact Andy Humbles at [email protected] and X formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on the Nashville Tennessean: Strickland pleads guilty in Lebanon Square death of Tennessee mother