OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A 34-year-old Omaha woman will serve a minimum of 70 years in prison for a fiery drunk-driving crash that killed four people including her own children. WOWT-TV in Omaha reports Rachel Bickerstaff was sentenced Wednesday to 140-180 years in prison for four counts of motor vehicle homicide as a result of the tragic downtown Omaha crash that killed her 5-year-old, 18-month-old and newborn; as well as the other driver, 70-year-old Michael Sales of Council Bluffs, who died at the scene.

Douglas County District Court Judge Moll Keane sentenced Bickerstaff to 35-45 years for each count. She could be eligible for parole in 70 years due to Nebraska’s “good time” law. Prosecutors called it one of the worst drunk-driving cases they’ve ever dealt with in Douglas County.

Bickerstaff pled “no contest” to the charges in March. A fifth charge of DUI causing serious bodily injury was dropped as part of the plea agreement. The charges stem from the crash on Sept. 27, 2024, near 10th and Douglas streets, where investigators say Bickerstaff reached a top speed of 142 miles per hour and ran a red light going over 100 when she hit Sales, who was on his way home from work.

Bickerstaff received another charge of assault of a confined person in May. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says she assaulted her cellmate while in jail. Prosecutors said in court Wednesday that while the horrific crash wasn’t intentional, it also wasn’t an accident.

Bickerstaff’s attorney told the judge that her client had a tough childhood. She had witnessed and endured a lot of abuse in her home, and started drinking and doing meth at age 12. Bickerstaff apologized in court, saying that she lost everything in the crash and asked the court to understand that she made the most tragic decision of her life when she got behind the wheel while drunk.