Monday, September 16, 2024
AZLE — A Fort Worth woman who had a rollover auto accident in Azle with three children in the vehicle —along with various drugs and alcohol — pleaded guilty and was sentenced by a judge to 50 years in prison in a trial that concluded Thursday, Aug. 22, in Weatherford.
In July, Hanna Springstead, 29, pleaded guilty to felony charges of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger, possession of 125 grams of methamphetamine and 34 grams of psilocin with intent to deliver, and possession of 15 fentanyl pills and less than a gram of MDMA. Psilocin is more commonly referred to as mushrooms or “shrooms.” She elected to have 43rd District Court Judge Craig Towson assess her punishment.
After hearing two days of testimony, on Thursday, Towson gave Springstead two 50-year prison sentences for the possession with intent to deliver charge, 10 years for the fentanyl possession charge, 10 years and a $10,000 fine for the DWI with a child passenger, and two years in a state jail for the MDMA possession.
“This was a very serious offense involving a verified drug dealer that could have resulted in the deaths of three young children,” District Attorney Jeff Swain said. “Miraculously, no one suffered serious injuries in the accident. Judge Towson’s sentence reflects the danger posed to our community by this defendant’s intoxicated driving and drug dealing. That is especially true for the fentanyl, which has been causing so many fatal overdoses in our county in recent years.”
During the trial, Azle police officers testified about the single vehicle rollover accident they responded to on State Highway 199 in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 2023. Officers described finding Springstead outside a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, which was resting on its side, while three small children remained inside the vehicle.
“The three kids were all in car seats, but none of the seats was attached to the car,” said Assistant District Attorney Mallory Vincent, who tried the case with Assistant District Attorney Ryan Whyte. “APD officers had to use a glass punch to get into the car through the rear windshield to rescue the children. When one officer emerged from the vehicle, he had a baggie with fentanyl pills entangled on his pistol. At least after the accident, these pills must have been where they would have been accessible to the three kids, who range from 8 months to 5 years old.”
As officers investigated the car further, they found a partially consumed bottle of Fireball whiskey, a backpack, glass jar, a cookie tin, and a bag, all of which had multiple drug exhibits inside. They also found $873 in cash and a notebook that catalogued a multitude of drug transactions, according to a Parker County Sheriff’s Office Special Crimes Unit narcotics investigator who testified.
“From what we found, it appeared that Ms. Springstead was a significant drug dealer in the Azle area,” Whyte said.
A toxicology report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office admitted during the trial showed Springstead had methamphetamine and tetrahydrocannabinol in her system as well as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05.
“Under Texas law, the legal limit for alcohol concentration is 0.08, so Ms. Springstead was under that,” Swain said. “However, she combined that with meth and THC, which combined to cause a pretty significant level of intoxication.”
Springstead will be eligible for parole when her actual time served plus her good time credit equals 12.5 years, Swain said. “After that point, the decision on whether or not to release her is within the discretion of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.”
