Woman who killed 2 teen girls while texting sentenced to 6 years in prison

Associated Press AKRON, Ohio An Ohio woman who drifted off a road while texting and struck and killed two teenage girls has been sentenced t...

Associated Press
AKRON, Ohio

An Ohio woman who drifted off a road while texting and struck and killed two teenage girls has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Twenty-five-year-old Natasha Boggs, of New Franklin, asked for forgiveness before being sentenced Friday in Akron.

Boggs pleaded guilty in March to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and one count each of vehicular assault and attempted tampering with evidence for the deaths of 14-year-old Taylor Galloway, of Akron, and 14-year-old Amber Thoma, of Coventry Township, in May 2017. A 15-year-old boy was seriously injured.

They were struck alongside a road with no sidewalks in Summit County’s Coventry Township.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports Angela Galloway, Taylor's mother, was emotional when she spoke before the courtroom.

"Natasha robbed my daughter of the life she should have had," Galloway said. "I will never see Taylor grow up. No prom or graduation, falling in love for the first time or a family of her own."

Boggs cried as Galloway called her selfish, saying she deleted texts from her phone immediately after the deadly collision. The Galloway family urged the judge to give Boggs the maximum sentence of nine years behind bars.

Angela Galloway was unmoved by Boggs' crying.

“Those tears are not for Taylor. They are tears for Natasha and loss of freedom,” Galloway said. “We are facing life alone and she gets maybe nine years. Where’s the justice in that? … I don’t think nine years is too much to ask for the lives of two beautiful girls.”

Boggs addressed family members with a shaky voice.

“I just want to say I’m truly sorry. I never meant for anything to happen,” she said. “I can’t forgive myself. I’m truly sorry.”

Defense attorney Daniel Funk argued that Boggs was not speeding, drunk or impaired at the time of the crash.

“This is a tragedy for all,” he said. “This is an accident. Nothing more. Nothing less. This is awful.”

Boggs received credit for the 11 months she’s spent in jail, making her prison sentence just over five years. Her driver’s license was suspended for five years.