Drunk Driver Kills Iowa Man, Family Faces Heartbreaking Repeat of Past Tragedy

An Iowa man’s family is mourning his loss after a drunk driver hit and killed him as a tragic family pattern emerges.

Michael Sales, a 70-year-old man from Council Bluffs, died after a drunk driver rear-ended him while he was driving home from work in September 2024, according to NBC affiliate WOWT.

ABC affiliate KETV reported that prosecutors said the driver, Rachel Bickerstaff, reached a speed of 139 mph a few seconds before the fatal collision. Upon impact, Sales’ car caught on fire and her three children, including a 5-year-old, a newborn and an 18-month old, were killed, WOWT reported.

The Sales family said a similar tragedy struck a previous generation, forcing their father to experience the same loss they’re now grappling with. 

“His own mother — my grandmother — was killed by a drunk driver when he was just 2 years old,“ Laura Sales said during court in a video shared by WOWT. ”He grew up an only child on a farm outside of Crescent, Iowa.”

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“He read to me every night when I was a little girl, he held my hand when I was scared and would play with me until I fell asleep,” she told the court. “He never missed a game, a recital or a single moment that mattered.”

On Wednesday, June 18, Bickerstaff was sentenced to 140-180 years in prison and had her license revoked for 15 years. She will be eligible for parole after 70 years, according to KETV.