Driver found guilty in officer's death didn't think she was drunk at time of crash
PEARLAND, Texas (KTRK) -- The woman found guilty of killing a Pearland officer while she was driving drunk last year didn't think she was drunk at the time of the crash, according to new court testimony.
Evidence presented in court on Wednesday revealed Amber Willemsen told a friend in jail that she'd had a few drinks on the night of the accident but clearly remembers everything that happened.
Willemsen allegedly told that same friend in jail that the experience was "something to check off [her] bucket list" and said that the situation could have been much worse.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Pearland officer killed in head-on car crash
"I sat for a year and tried to figure out why it was him," she said in testimony. "He had so much more to offer than me -- he has a family that won't get to see him and a child who won't get to have the experience I've had with my children."
Willemsen also claimed she was pulled over on a Houston highway on suspicion of drunk driving before the crash with Ekpanya, but that officer took her to a local Denny's instead of arresting her.
A jury on Tuesday found Willemsen guilty of intoxication manslaughter in connection with Ekpanya's death.
Police said Willemsen slammed into Ekpanya's police cruiser on East Broadway Street near Liberty Drive in Pearland in June 2016 while he was on duty.
The driver's side of Ekpanya's car was crushed, and he had to be extracted from the vehicle. Ekpanya died on the way to the hospital.
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