Former professional wrestling manager and adult entertainer Tammy Sytch has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for her role in a deadly crash where prosecutors said she was driving drunk.
The 50-year-old star from Matawan commonly known by her ring name ‘Sunny’ during her days in the World Wrestling Federation, pleaded no contest in August to one count of DUI manslaughter, driving while her license was suspended with death, four counts of DUI with damage to person, and two counts of DUI with property damage.
Sytch was driving a sedan on March 25, 2022, which crashed into a car driven by 75-year-old Julian Lasseter who was stopped at a red light in the 100 block of North Yonge Street in Ormond Beach. His vehicle was pushed into another car and he died from his injuries.
Authorities in Volusia County Florida, said that Sytch’s blood-alcohol content was between 0.32 and 0.36 just less than an hour after the crash. That is about four times the legal limit of 0.08, at which point a person is considered legally intoxicated. She reportedly had an unsealed bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system at the time of her arrest.
She had faced up to more than 25 years in prison during her sentencing hearing on Monday, November 27, 2023. During the hearing, Sytch said she felt remorse and regret “deep in my soul” for killing Julian LaFrancis Lasseter of Daytona Beach. She had previously been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence in Pennsylvania, where her driver’s license had been suspended. She didn’t have a Florida driver’s license.
“The defendant’s history of drinking and driving is horrendous,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement after the sentencing. “It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual.” She added.
This wasn’t Sytch’s first driving under the influence charge. Prior to the incident, she was locked up six times for driving under the influence. She will be required to serve eight years of probation, and her driver’s license has been permanently revoked.
