Sep 24, 2024
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina woman will spend the next 25 years in prison after being convicted in a 2021 wrong-way DUI crash that killed three Fishers teenagers. Melissa Ann Parker, 43, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of several felonies including DUI resulting in death and assault and battery. 7News in South Carolina reported Parker was also ordered to pay over $75,000 in restitution. The charges stem from a 2021 crash in Spartanburg that killed 17-year-olds Elleana Lee Gaddis and Isabella Lee Gaddis and 18-year-old Brianna Lynn Foster, all of Fishers. The girls were just 10 minutes away from the destination when Parker hit them head-on in a stolen car. Elleana Gaddis and Isabella Gaddis (left) and Brianna Foster (right). (via Spartanburg Police) Police and EMS crews were called around 2 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2021, to Interstate 26 for a serious head-on collision. The driver of the car that was going the wrong way - later identified as Parker - reportedly crawled through the back windshield and left the scene following the crash. “I got out of the car, and I stood up and started screaming for help,” said then-17-year-old Maci Watts, the only survivor in the girl's car. “I found out later the defendant had crawled out of her car and ran away.” Parker was reportedly driving a Hummer SUV she had stolen from a Circle K on Asheville Highway. Reports said she drove the Hummer around the Circle K several times as police responded, nearly hitting a responding officer who tried to stop her. Authorities said Parker then drove the stolen car onto the interstate headed in the wrong direction. She soon collided with a Kia sedan driven by Brianna Foster, who was reportedly driving herself and three friends to a beach that was just minutes away. Photos of the crash scene can be seen below: Foster and 17-year-old identical twin sisters Belle and Elle Gaddis were killed in the crash. Watts was in the car with the three girls and sustained minor injuries. All four girls were students at Hamilton Southeastern High School. Police said they then tracked Parker, who had fled the scene on foot, to a nearby residential area where she appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The suspect was later taken to a local hospital where it was revealed she'd taken THC gummies and Adderal before driving. Melissa Ann Parker mugshot On Monday, Parker was sentenced after being found guilty on three counts of felony DUI resulting in death, one count of assault and battery in the first degree, grand larceny and hit and run with minor personal injury. 7News reported Tuesday that Parker was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a $25,100 fine for each count of felony DUI death.  The deaths of the three young girls sparked an outpouring of support and grief in the community. Several vigils were held by HSE and the Fishers community to honor the three teens. During a 2021 court hearing, the parents of the teens spoke about their devastating loss. “They were identical twins,” said Andy Gaddis, the father of the two girls killed. “They came in together, and I hope they were asleep, but I am glad they went out together.” Holding onto one another, Andy described the pain of losing his young daughters. “We all feel like we’re dying, minute by minute. We feel like we’re not going to be okay,” Andy added. “They did not deserve this. They had their whole lives ahead of them,” said Jodi Foster, the mother of Brianna. “Before the crash, we were all talking about our futures,” said Watts. “Brianna was talking about when she wanted to have kids.” “They definitely did not deserve to go this soon,” said Laci Bannon, a friend and classmate of the twins at Hamilton Southeastern Fishers Academy. “They were about to graduate. They were so close, and their lives got taken way too soon.” For more information on the crash and the Fishers community reaction, click here.
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