The wrong-way driver in the crash that killed TikTok star Ali Spice and two others was sentenced Wednesday to 37 years in prison.
Thomas Petry , 55, of Orange City, was driving a pickup truck westbound in the eastbound lane on State Road 44 just east of Interstate 4 on Dec. 11, 2022, when the truck collided head-on with an Infiniti Q50, according to police.
Three passengers in the Infiniti were killed: Alexandra Dulin, 21, who was also known as Ali Spice to almost a million TikTok followers; Kyle Jacob Moser, 25, of Daytona Beach; and Ava Fellerman, 20, of Treasure Island.
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced Petry to 37 years in prison.
Petry was the first person to speak during the hearing. He sat at the defense table next to his attorney, Richard Zaleski. Petry looked down as he read from a statement. He admitted to drinking before the crash and said he did not know how he wound up driving on the wrong side of the road. He apologized for leaving the scene of the crash.
Petry said he was “a broken man.” He said he knew there was no way to repay the victims’ families for the lives of their loved ones.