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The father of a 24-year-old Illinois woman who was captured on video laughing after she mowed down two people asked online trolls to leave the family alone — saying his daughter is already paying for the horrific crime behind bars.
Stephanie Melgoza’s father, Patrick O’Brian, claimed his family has been inundated with hateful comments online over body camera footage that was released earlier this week of his daughter drunkenly giggling after she fatally struck Andrea Rosewicz, 43, and Paul Prowant, 55, outside a bar in East Peoria.
“We grieve with Paul and Andrea’s family and are so sorry for what our daughter did to them. We can’t be sorry enough. This harassment has to stop though,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
The dad blasted the “cowards” behind the “harassment,” claiming that they “sit behind a keyboard and post pictures of our family and defame our character.”
O’Brian argued that his family shouldn’t have to pay for the crime committed by his daughter, who was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison.
“Our daughter did a horrible thing and will pay for it for the next 14 years of her life. The rest of my family did nothing,” O’Brian said.
Viral footage from the scene of the April 10, 2022, crash showed Melgoza struggling to follow cops’ directions and laughing during a sobriety test. She told cops she had had three vodkas before driving.
She also sang and danced on an exam table at a hospital after her drunken smashup, asking an officer if she could get her car back in time to make it to school the following day, police said.
“You’re going to jail, you don’t have a bond, you killed two people tonight. I don’t think you understand that,” the cop replied.
Melgoza, who was three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit, faced backlash from other students at Bradley University over the crash and was banned from walking at her graduation, though she was allowed to accept her diploma.
She pleaded guilty last week to four felonies, including two counts of aggravated DUI death.
Despite the backlash against Melgoza, some commenters on her father’s post this week expressed sympathy for the family.
“This isn’t fair they need to leave them alone!!! They need to think of if this was their family going through this and how they would feel I’m sure they wouldn’t stand for it so just think people before u make any rude comments,” one person wrote.
“I have no idea what is going on. Just know a lot of people out here respect and care about you and your family! Lots of love going out to you,” another said.
One user wrote that “there is not a person on earth that hasn’t made a mistake sometime in their life.”
Yet another said “some people will never understand the big picture.
“Social media is and will always be a place where keyboard warriors will put it out there w/o having to bear the burden of what your [sic] going thru! Let he who is free of sin cast the first stone,” he wrote.
“My heart hurts for you and your family. Stephanie is a wonderful person and you are a great family. I’m sorry for the people who just don’t understand your situation. I pray for you all daily hoping for forgiveness and understanding,” he added.
During sentencing, Melgoza tearfully expressed remorse for her actions.
“I’m so sorry for everything, and I will never, ever commit anything like that again,” she said. “I have not drank since that day. I do not plan on drinking ever again. I want to try to do something positive to make a difference, speak out about this and warn others about the dangers that come with drinking.”
Melgoza’s footage was shared on the same day that new bride Samantha Hutchinson, 34, was killed by an alleged drunk driver minutes after her wedding in South Carolina.
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