November 22, 2023
The drunk driver who struck two Pennsylvania State Troopers and another person on I-95 in South Philly last year, killing all three, pleaded guilty on Wednesday and was sentenced to 27 1/2 to 60 years in prison.
Jayana Webb, 23, had crashed her car into the three men in the southbound side of the highway near the Sports Complex on March 21, 2022. The impact killed state troopers Martin F. Mack III, 33, and Branden T. Sisca, 29, along with 28-year-old Reyes Rivera Oliveras. The two troopers had been called to assist Oliveras, who was walking on the shoulder of the road near Lincoln Financial Field. The crash occurred near the Broad Street exit around 12:30 a.m.
Not long before Mack and Sisca found Oliveras on the night of the crash, they had stopped Webb on I-95 for speeding, investigators said. Their interaction with Webb was captured on the troopers' dashboard camera and lasted less than a minute. When the troopers left to find Oliveras, investigators said Webb followed the same path and crashed her Chevy Captiva into the three men. She remained at the scene.
Webb, of Eagleville, Montgomery County, pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree murder, three counts of vehicular homicide while DUI, and one count of driving under the influence. Her blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash, prosecutors said.
Webb was sentenced by Common Pleas Judge Barbara McDermott. The Inquirer reported Webb is seven months pregnant. In exchange for her guilty pleas she will be allowed not to report to prison until after she gives birth and is "allowed some bonding time with the child."
The case prompted outrage due to social media posts in which Webb has bragged about driving drunk. In January last year, Webb posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she believed she was skilled at driving under the influence, FOX29 reported. "If you ask me, I’m the best drunk driver ever," Webb reportedly posted on the social media platform.
In June 2022, a judge threw out the third-degree murder charges against Webb. Those charges were refiled by the D.A.'s office and included in the plea deal.
"Today's conviction of Jayana Webb is a just resolution of one of the most shocking incidents of vehicular violence in recent memory," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.