Woman pleads guilty in drunken driving crash that killed pregnant woman
![Courtesy of Anoka County Jail](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Makayla-Richardson-mug-Anoka.jpg)
Courtesy of Anoka County Jail
A Mounds View woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to her role in a drunken driving crash that killed a pregnant woman last year in Coon Rapids.
Court records show Makayla April Sua Richardson, 21, entered a guilty plea to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the deaths of 26-year-old Melinda Thao and her unborn baby on Aug. 20. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors have offered to dismiss charges of criminal vehicular operation and driving while intoxicated.
According to a criminal complaint, Richardson drove a Ford F-350 through a red light at the intersection of Coon Rapids Boulevard and Springbrook Drive Northwest, hitting a Toyota Highlander. Thao, a passenger in the Toyota, was pronounced dead at the hospital along with her unborn child.
Richardson told police she had consumed one alcoholic drink before driving and admitted to speeding and not having a valid license. Officers found an empty can of an alcoholic beverage inside Richardson’s truck, and a field test found she had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit.
A sentencing hearing is set for March 14. Richardson could face up to 10 years in prison for each criminal vehicular homicide charge.