Colden teen pleads guilty for recklessly killing three passengers in February 2023 crash in Amherst

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Colden teen has pled guilty for her role in the death of three other passengers in a crash back in February 2023 on Millersport Highway in the Town of Amherst.

19-year-old Jayla Mueller pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan to three counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Class “C” felonies) and one count of Reckless Driving (unclassified misdemeanor under New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law). The defendant pleaded guilty, as charged, to all four counts in the indictment.

It was on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023 at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET when Mueller was driving at a high-rate of speed on John James Audubon Parkway in the Town of Amherst when she lost control of the vehicle on the ramp onto Millersport Highway. The defendant recklessly caused the death of her three passengers in the crash.

The victims, 18-year-old Azathiel Pabon, 19-year-old Isabella French, and 20-year-old Dakota Eldridge, were all ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Mueller and a fourth passenger, a 17-year-old male, were taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where they were both treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Judge Eagan committed to sentencing the defendant as a youthful offender on Tuesday on the conditions that she remains arrest free, complies with the pre-sentence investigation and appears in court for her sentencing.

Prosecutors from the Erie County District Attorney's Office stated their opposition to youthful offender adjudication, and intend to request the court to impose the maximum term of incarceration at sentencing.

If adjudicated as a youthful offender, Mueller faces a maximum of one-and-a-third-to-four years in prison when she is sentenced on Monday, July 8 at 9:30 a.m. ET. If she is not granted youthful offender status, she faces a maximum sentence of 5-to-15 years in prison.

Prosecutors also requested that the defendant be remanded pending sentence. She remains released under supervision.