Tonya Bell

Bell, 50, of Oxon Hill, Md., pleaded guilty in October to multiple counts of aggravated assault while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon, along with a charge of cruelty to children. District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Herbert Dixon gave Bell the maximum sentence allowed under the plea agreement she reached with prosecutors.She injured nearly 50 people when she plowed her car through a street festival while high on crack cocaine was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, Bell had gone on a crack binge in the 24 hours before the street festival, consuming $700 worth of the drug. She then placed her 7-year-old daughter in the back seat of her station wagon and headed toward Unifest, a church-sponsored street festival in southeast Washington.
At speeds of up to 70 mph, Bell made two passes through the area, knocking people to the side and under the car. A police officer who tried to pull her over said she was laughing as she drove. Her station wagon was finally stopped when officers crashed their scooters under the vehicle and a man jumped through the window to put the transmission in park.