Our Conroe accident lawyers had written a couple of months back about the tragic case of a drunken 28-year-old mother that wrapped her car around a tree in an alcohol-related wreck, resulting in the death of her infant daughter that had been strapped in a car seat in the back seat. The mother, Ashli Heil, was apparently so drunk at the time of the wreck that she didn’t even remember that she had the child in the SUV with her. Toxicology tests on a blood sample taken from Heil discovered that the mother had a blood alcohol level of 0.18% at the time of the wreck, well over twice the legal limit in Texas.
Heil showed clear signs of intoxication at the time of a wreck, and admitted to a trooper that she had been drinking. She was able to tell authorities where she had bought the alcohol, and they have obtained videotapes showing Heil purchasing the alcoholic beverage.
Ashli Heil’s daughter, Whilow, was found dead in her car seat after the wreck. A Justice of the Peace pronounced her dead at the scene of the crime. Ashli Heil was extricated from the SUV’s wreckage and airlifted to a hospital for treatment of her own injuries. Our Conroe accident lawyers point out that the data recorder from Heil’s SUV showed that the mother had been traveling at 65 mph in a 40 mph zone when she lost control on a curve, crossed into oncoming traffic, and crashed into the tree.
Ashli Heil is now in the Montgomery County Jail on $250,000 bond. She is the first woman to be charged under the felony murder rule in southeast Texas, and faces a possible sentence of 5 years to life for killing her daughter in the DWI wreck. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office alleged that Heil:
And, consequently, Whilow Heil died in a crash. The deadly DWI wreck occurred by 18125 FM 1484 near Cut and Shoot, Texas on April 2, 2012 around 6 p.m.
Our Conroe accident lawyers clarify that the felony murder rule, or Texas’ “accidental murder” statute, requires only that a prosecutor show that someone dies during the commission of a felony act where the defendant also committed an act clearly dangerous to human life during the felony. The felony murder rule does not require the prosecutor to prove intent. This makes the felony murder rule particularly useful in DWI cases, where defendants’ intent and even memories are often unclear.
ADA Warren Diepraam of the Montgomery County DA’s office emphasizes that DWI “is the most frequently committed crime” in Montgomery County and that it is also the most preventable of crimes. Our Conroe accident lawyers hope that use of the felony murder rule to prosecute cases where innocent victims die because of drunken drivers’ unwise choices will have a strong deterrent effect on drunk driving in our area. Learn more about the use of vehicle data recorders in helping to prove a crime in our linked article discussing these black boxes.