A South Carolina woman has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to driving the wrong way while drunk on Interstate 77, which led to a crash that killed four people.

One of the four casualties was her own daughter.

Rolesha Spears, 31, of Rock Hill, drove the wrong way for at least five miles on I-77 in York County before she smashed into another car around midnight in October 2021, 16th Circuit senior assistant solicitor Matt Shelton said Thursday in York County criminal court.

Rylee Pate, 5, identified in court as Spears’ daughter, was a passenger in Spears’ car. Rylee was not restrained by a seat belt or car seat at the time of the crash, Shelton said in court.

Jasmine Givens, 27, and sisters, Briasia Moore, 20, and Nykiera Moore, 17, were in the car that was struck, Shelton said in court. Givens was driving, Shelton said.

Spears’ blood alcohol concentration was recorded at .258 after the crash, Shelton said. The legal limit in South Carolina is .08.

Spears pleaded guilty in York County criminal court to four counts of felony DUI with death and one count of child endangerment and faced more than 100 years in prison if the sentences were run consecutively. Each felony DUI carries up to 25 years.

Judge Eugene Griffith sentenced Spears to 35 years on all the charges. The sentence included 25 years for the four DUI charges and an additional 10 years for the child endangerment, Griffith said.

“No sentence I can give can bring back a child or a family member,” Griffith said. “This ranks very high on the worst I have ever seen.”

Spears asks for chance to redeem herself

Spears apologized in court. She also asked for a chance to redeem herself by helping others avoid making the same poor decision she made.

“It is so sad that one horrible mistake can change a life in the blink of an eye,” Spears said. “I believe God spared my life so I could save someone else going down the path.”

Spears’ relatives said in court she was a good mother and a person who, before the crash, was a productive member of society.

Ryan Newkirk, Spears’ defense attorney from the 16th Circuit Public Defender office, said Spears has always been remorseful.

“She lived a God-fearing, productive life before this,” Newkirk said. “There’s no indication this ever happened prior to the night it occurred. She had no criminal history.”

Newkirk asked for mercy in sentencing based on Spears lack of a prior record and lack of intent in the deaths.

The crash

Shelton and a S.C. Highway patrol trooper said in court it was the worst DUI case they had seen in decades of handling such cases.

“Rolesha Spears chose to drive drunk,” Shelton said. “The victims didn’t choose.”

Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett said in court the consequences of Spears’ selfish, thoughtless behavior caused four deaths, and he called for a harsh sentence. Brackett said Spears’ sentence can stand as a stark warning to anyone who hits drinks and puts the key in the ignition to drive.

“She was so drunk for miles down the interstate,” Brackett said. “What a horror she brought.”

Victims’ families ask for long sentence

Family members of the victims, including Rylee’s father, Frank Pate, said in court that Spears drunk driving and indifference to others left his daughter among four dead. The victims were beautiful people who had their lives snatched from them by Spears’ drunk driving, Pate said.

“If given freedom, she will cause harm and death to somebody else,” Pate said.

Bertha Stroud, aunt of Givens and related to the Moore sisters, said the three adult female victims left behind children and grieving families.

“I ask that you show no mercy, she should get the maximum sentence that she can get,” Stroud said.

Florence Moore, grandmother of the Moore sisters, said Spears’ drunk driving was senseless and didn’t have to happen.

“She killed four people, she should get four life sentences. She should never walk the street again,” Moore said.