3 years prison, lifetime license suspension in fatal crash that killed Lorain man

ELYRIA — Haylee Henderson of Lorain sobbed Friday as sheriff's deputies led her out of a Lorain County Common Pleas courtroom in handcuffs to begin serving a mandatory three-year prison sentence for killing Laqua Butler in a drunken driving crash last year. Family members shouted "I love you" and "We love you" until she was gone from sight. The 22-year-old woman's prison term is mandatory, meaning no early release from the Ohio Reformatory for Women. She also lost her driver's license for the rest of her life and will be required to pay the Butler family $4,251.75 to cover the cost of Laqua Butler's funeral. Before telling Henderson that she had lost the privilege to ever drive a car again, Judge James Miraldi told her he'd be "furious" if she had a prior record of drunken driving. "But today I'm just plain sad," he told Henderson. "You put yourself at risk, you put your child at risk, you put the public at risk. ... If I'm the family of our victim I'd be very angry, but they've shown more compassion." Henderson pleaded guilty in September to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one second-degree felony and one third-degree felony, three counts of OVI and one count of endangering children, all first-degree misdemeanors. At the request of the Butler family, the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office had asked Miraldi to hand down the maximum eight-year prison sentence. Defense attorney Jack Bradley said the night of the crash, Oct. 28, 2018, Henderson was celebrating her 21st birthday with family when she got behind the wheel of a Chrysler Town and Country with her 10-month old son inside. "She drank, and for some reason, she drove," he told Miraldi. It was while she was driving her minivan in the 3700 block of West Erie Avenue in Lorain in the rain that she hit and killed Butler, 38, who was riding a bicycle. Henderson's van then veered across Erie Avenue and hit a row of trees, though neither she nor her son were injured in the crash. Bradley said Henderson didn't see Butler because it was raining and he was wearing dark clothing. She called 911 to report the crash, he said. Officers arrived to find Butler's mangled bicycle and a bystander performing CPR on Butler, who died at the scene. Butler, who attended Admiral King High School in Lorain, left behind a son, daughter, granddaughter, his parents and multiple siblings. According to Lorain police and the Prosecutor's Office, Henderson admitted having six shots before getting behind the wheel and her blood-alcohol content tested at 0.182 after the crash — more than twice the legal limit to drive. She smelled of alcohol, swayed while walking and nearly fell over as police investigated the scene. Bradley read several letters to the court, sent on Henderson's behalf, that described her as a person of faith, a good mother and daughter and a hard worker who lost her job as a medical assistant after being charged in Butler's death. "I ask the court to take some mercy on her," Bradley said. "She never expected to be sitting here in this courtroom. If Haylee was not intoxicated, this would've been categorized as an accident." Henderson cried and sniffled quietly throughout her attorney's presentation, then apologized to the Butler family and her own family for her actions. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry to Laqua Butler, he didn't deserve this," Henderson told the court. "I made a deep mistake that I did not intend to do. I was never set out to hurt him, it was raining, it was pouring, I was drinking. "I promise to make better decisions in the future," she continued. "I'm not a violent person. I've never been in trouble a day in my life. I'm sorry." Laqua Butler's father Larry told Miraldi that the loss of his son "hurts," especially as the two men were trying to get close again. "It really hurts," he said, choking back tears. "My son is gone. ... He loved me and I loved him and like a thief in the night, he's gone. It ain't easy." Miraldi said his court was "a room filled with great sadness" because of the tragedy that occurred. "I don't have the power to make this right," he said. Larry Butler said he had compassion for Henderson and her family but still struggles with the loss of his son. "I feel for her," he told the court. "In time I pray I can forgive her, but he ain't comin' back." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.