Woman pleads guilty to vehicular homicide in young mother’s death

LEBANON, Tenn. — A woman was crushed to death by a speeding drunk driver.

The death in Lebanon’s central square shocked and outraged the public as the drunken suspect spent more than two years on bail.

But that will soon change.

It was a terrible scene. A mother and child collided on a roundabout in Lebanon.

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The young mother died.

Now, almost three years later, justice is coming to the family.

Ashley Bailey, 27, and her three-year-old son were driving through the square in daytime traffic when their car was hit by a speeding SUV.

The child survived, but Ashley suffered fatal injuries. Her husband Larry spoke about the loss just days later:

“Broken, lost, empty. It’s like I had a bad dream and I can’t wake up,” he said.

Police arrested 71-year-old Sandra Lee Strickland for homicide by vehicle while intoxicated.

She posted bail of $250,000 and has remained free for the past two and a half years.

Larry spent this time attending all court hearings and caring for his young son.

Six days into the investigation, which finally began last week, Strickland saw the evidence against her and pleaded guilty.

Larry says she never showed any remorse.

“She’s the one who said she did it and I’m going to jail. We wanted justice for Ashley to be taken away from us,” he shared.

Strickland, a first-time offender, likely faces an eight-year sentence with parole eligibility in just two and a half years.

“We have justice, and that’s what matters,” Larry said.

But that doesn’t mean Larry likes it.

This is the law and he agreed to this application, so there can be no appeal.

But for him, the sentence does not fit the crime.

“Ashley received a life sentence. She won’t be able to watch her son grow up. I won’t be able to grow old with my wife,” he said. “I told people after Ashley died that a part of me died that day too.”

Strickland will appear before a judge on Dec. 10 for sentencing.

The judge will consider a sentence of eight to 12 years.

Remember: Eligibility for parole does not necessarily mean the parole board will grant it.

And Larry Bailey plans to be at every hearing to argue against it.

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