The woman who caused a head-on collision last year that crippled 16-year-old Ashlee Stokes was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday.

Callan Gill, 24, was convicted in May of first-degree vehicular negligent injuring. Her sentence was handed down by 22nd Judicial District Judge Richard Swartz after hearing emotional victim impact statements from Karen Stokes, Ashlee’s mother, and Allison Galvan, one of the parents who drove the Northshore High School cheerleader in a carpool to and from practice.

“She spoke about how when the other girls would talk about being in a snit with so-and-so, Ashlee would always encourage them to maintain their friendships, and how she loved her friends and loved her life,” said Karen Stokes. “I was okay until she said that, and then I just started crying.”

Callan Gill

Ashlee herself also spoke in a halting attempt to communicate what she has gone through since the accident. Karen said the girl thanked everyone for speaking and expressed her desire that an accident like hers would not happen to anyone else. Putting a positive spin on the situation, however, she also said her family has grown stronger in the intervening months.

On May 25, 2008 Ashlee, then 15, was going to get ice cream with a family friend after a crawfish boil in Lacombe. Having just gotten her learner’s permit, the teen convinced neighbor Kerry Lindsey to let her drive. Gill had a blood alcohol level of .27 when her car crossed the centerline on Fish Hatchery Road, slamming into Ashlee’s car and sending both vehicles spinning out of control.

Ashlee spent nearly six months in the hospital, and has subsequently undergone rigorous speech and physical therapy to regain her motor skills.

While the charge of first-degree vehicular negligent injuring normally carries a prison term of up to five years, Gill’s status as a career criminal led Swartz to impose the harsher sentence.

She was already on probation for a 2004 conviction for possession of prescription drugs when she was arrested in 2006 for cocaine possession. She was out on bond for that arrest when the accident occurred.

She pleaded guilty to the cocaine charge and was sentenced to five years in prison. Gill will serve that term along with the 10-year sentence issued Monday, meaning she could spend up to 15 years in jail.

Karen noted that Gill spoke during the sentencing, expressing her hope that the Stokes family might learn to forgive her.

“We just hope Ms. Gill emerges from jail a better person,” Karen said. “Maybe one day she can help prevent someone else’s tragedy.”

While Ashlee is making slow but steady progress, starting Aug. 24 she will participate in the Sudden Impact Injury Prevention Program.

A joint effort between the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans and the Louisiana State Troopers Association, the program is aimed at high school sophomores in an effort to reduce injuries and fatalities in motor vehicle accidents.

Nine schools in Jefferson and Orleans parishes will be involved, and Ashlee will join trauma nurses, state troopers and others to help raise awareness of the dangers of high-risk behaviors.

“She always told me she wanted to talk about what happened to her,” said Karen. “Now she’ll get the chance to tell her story.”