RELIANCE, S.D. (AP) - A 19-year-old Lower Brule woman has pleaded guilty to five counts of vehicular homicide in a wreck that killed five people and injured four more last year.
Tessa Crane appeared in a Kennebec courtroom Wednesday. She's to be sentenced in December. Crane was the driver of an Oldsmobile Cutlass that collided in August 2011 with a Toyota Corolla carrying six people.
The vehicles burst into flames on a gravel road. The victims included children. One 10-year-old was among the dead.
Lyman County States Attorney Anita Fuoss says the state dismissed lesser charges, such as driving without a license, in exchange for the plea.
Crane was taken into custody Wednesday and is to return to court December 20. She faces up to 75 years in prison.
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