Maria was very drunk when she killed a man in a crash on I-77, she was on the way to pick up kids
Maria Leonard, 33, pleaded guilty to felony death my vehicle in April 2026 after she killed a Golden Corral employee identified as Graham Myers, 50, on Interstate 77 in Charlotte, NC.
The fatal crash was in May 2025 on I-77. Maria was drunk and swerving on the highway with a blood alcohol level of 0.24 while driving a Chrysler 300. Graham was riding a motorcycle when Maria ran into the back of him, Graham then collided in the rear of an 18-wheeler truck, his body was smashed and he died instantly.
Maria had a strong odor of alcohol coming from her breath, red eyes, slurred speech, and she could not walk steady.
Maria had a 0.24 blood alcohol content during an Intoxilyzer examination. Maria also performed terribly on field sobriety tests such as the walk and turn, one leg up, and eye test. Maria said that she was on the way to get her kids after a night out of drinking.
Maria was arrested on site and charged with DWI, outdated registration, and felony death by vehicle. In April 2026 before she went to trial Maria pled guilty to felony death by vehicle in exchange for the other charges being dropped.
Maria was sentenced to 54-71 months in prison, it appears that sentence was suspended in exchange for 36 months of Maria serving supervised probation instead.
