Drunk driver gets early jail release due to coronavirus outbreak while her victim sits outraged

If inmates are not paroled early, the coronavirus pandemic will only worsen in Michigan's prisons.

Many prisoners have already died - but releasing these prisoners is angering many of their victims.

"I was torn from my seatbelt, I had 30 running stitches because she split my face wide open," said April Zick. "That night she almost took my life."

Zick was left with gruesome injuries after she was struck by a drunk driver in 2017. She learned earlier this week the woman behind the wheel is set to be released from prison amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

"I have to live with this for the rest of my life," she said. "I can't even carry a jug of milk into my house because she broke my neck."

Stephanie Colucci has spent nearly three years in prison for operating while intoxicated and fleeing from police. Colucci, 29, rear-ended Zick as she sat at a red light at the Wayne and Joy road intersection in Westland.                       

Zick's face was scarred in the crash, her neck broken. She says her life changed that day and another was lost soon after.

"I was almost 30 weeks pregnant and just a few weeks after the accident my son died - directly contributing to the accident, but not a direct cause," she said.

Zick still wears a neck brace and say she's going into her fifth surgery in three years. 

"And there's so many people out there like me, in the same exact shoes and we're stuck in our own special kind of hell while they get to come out and go take care of their kids spend time with the family," she said. "I can't spend time with my child. he's dead." 

The Michigan Department of Corrections is releasing more inmates because of the covid-19 crisis. More than 2,100 have tested positive for the disease and 50 have died. 

MDOC spokesperson Chris Gautz says they are "only paroling individuals they feel will not harm society if released." For Zick that carries little weight.

"You make a choice for your life and you know that there are consequences for it," she said. "They think they deserve their second chance. I very well deserve my second chance at justice."

So far, of the 37,000 prisoners in the state's custody, only about 5,000 are eligible for parole. And all of those inmates have served their minimum sentence. Last month the state paroled nearly 800 prisoners. 

"In normal non-COVID times we average about 140 paroles or so per week," Gautz said. "During the pandemic we are averaging 200 to 220 paroles per week."

Stephanie Colucci will likely be released from prison just before June. County prosecutors have the right to appeal these releases but it is rare that they do.

When the state parole board makes its decision, those prosecutors usually accept typically accept it. And this case will be no different. 

Stephanie Colucci