BEVERLY HILLS—On Monday, August 12, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that Taisha Warie Welch, 31, was sentenced to seven years in state prison for a car crash that caused two fatalities and injured three others in Beverly Hills.

Welch was driving under the influence on April 27, 2018 at about 1:30 a.m. and lost control of her BMW X5 causing the vehicle to crash and rollover near Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. She was driving at a high-rate of speed and may have ran a red light before the crash. The crash killed Denesha Stewart, 24, of Lakewood and Jenetta Williams, 30, of Palmdale. Three other passengers were seriously injured during the crash, two of them suffering great bodily injury.

According to Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Megee, Welch pleaded “no contest” on February 23 to two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and admitted an allegation of multiple victims. She was also charged with driving with a BAC of .08 percent causing injury, and driving with a suspended license.  

According to jail records, Welch was arrested by officers from the Beverly Hills Police Department the morning the crash transpired and was released on a bond a week later.

Written by Alexandra White and Christianne McCormick