Bodycam Shows Woman Laughing, 'Playing Dumb' Minutes After Killing Two People In DUI Crash

Newly released bodycam footage showed a woman's chilling behavior minutes after she hit and killed two people with her car outside a bar in East Peoria, Illinois, while driving drunk last year.

The video, published by Law & Crime over the weekend, showed then-23-year-old university student Stephanie Melgoza, of Farmington, Illinois, smiling, "laughing and playing dumb" during a confrontation with authorities at the scene of the April 10, 2022, crash.

Melgoza, who was three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit, struggled to follow a police officer's instructions during a field sobriety test.

"I told you, it's hard," Melgoza said as the officer tried to help her follow a light with her eyes.

She failed all the field sobriety tests conducted by responding officers.

In bodycam footage from OSF St. Francis Hospital shortly after the crash, Melgoza can be seen similarly oblivious to the seriousness of the incident. She spent several minutes singing and dancing on the exam table before asking the police officer if she could get her car back.

"You're going to jail, you don't have a bond, you killed two people tonight. I don't think you understand that," the officer said.

"Your car...it's a crime scene, it killed two people tonight," the officer added.

Last week, Melgoza, now 24, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to four felony charges, including two counts of aggravated DUI death and two counts of aggravated reckless driving.

The sentencing hearing was attended by the family members of Melgoza's victims, Andrea Rosewicz, 43, and Paul Prowant, 55.

Melgoza's defense attorney, Kevin Sullivan, insisted that his client deeply regrets the incident, adding that she was vilified on multiple fronts.

"She never set out to do this, and she'll regret it the rest of her life," Sullivan said, 25NewsNow reported.

Melgoza apologized to her victims' family members, saying she "never meant to hurt anybody."

"I will live with this for the rest of my life," Melgoza said.

According to reports from East Peoria police, on April 10, 2022, Melgoza was heading to Full Throttle bar when she ran over her two victims.

The Tazewell Assistant States Attorney said Melgoza "admitted to drinking three vodka drinks prior to driving" and hitting a person at the time.

A responding police officer noticed Melgoza's slurred speech, watery eyes, and strong alcohol odor on her breath.

Court documents also revealed that Melgoza was speeding about 10 miles over the posted limit.

The deadly DUI crash happened weeks before Melgoza graduated from Bradley University.

Due to the incident, Melgoza faced backlash from her fellow students, which caused her to be removed from the list of students eligible to walk at the graduation ceremony. However, the university president allowed her to accept her diploma.