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A Texas woman convicted of killing a college student in a drunken-driving crash was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to return to jail for 15 days each year while on probation.
Lynlee Pollis, 30, was sentenced Wednesday after being convicted of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in the September 2023 crash that killed 19-year-old Southern Methodist University student Honor Wallace and seriously injured her friend, Catherine “CeCe” Solberg, according to The Dallas Morning News.
State District Judge Jennifer Balido also ordered Pollis to serve 10 years of probation following her release from prison, including 15 days in jail annually.
Some of the required jail dates coincide with the victims’ birthdays, Pollis’ birthday and the anniversary of the deadly crash, according to the newspaper.
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The sentence came after roughly three hours of jury deliberations following a two-and-a-half-week trial.
During the trial, Solberg’s father, Bobby Solberg, delivered an emotional victim impact statement criticizing Pollis for putting the families through the lengthy proceedings.
“You were so drunk and you wouldn’t admit it. You made us sit through this [trial] for three weeks,” Solberg said. “We’ve seen no personal accountability from you.”
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Wallace’s father, David Wallace, also confronted Pollis in his victim impact statement.
“You took the most precious gift from us through your selfishness,” he said. “Own it. Own what you did.”
On Sept. 24, 2023, Wallace was driving her Volkswagen Jetta through a green light in Dallas when Pollis’ Lexus SUV slammed into her vehicle.
Wallace was pronounced dead at the hospital, while Solberg, a passenger in the Jetta, suffered a shoulder injury and concussion. She was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, according to The Dallas Morning News.
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According to testimony from prosecution experts cited by the newspaper, Pollis was traveling approximately 67 mph in a 35-mph zone and drove through a traffic light that had been red for at least five seconds.
Pollis’ husky named Tequila, who was also in the vehicle, was not hurt.
The newspaper reported that testing showed Pollis had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.294%, nearly four times Texas’ legal limit of 0.08%.
According to the initial arrest affidavit, officers noticed Pollis had glassy eyes, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol when they interviewed her at the hospital.
Her attorneys had sought probation rather than prison, pointing to her lack of prior felony convictions.
Defense attorney Scott Palmer said during his closing argument that Pollis was a “good person who made a terrible decision.”
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