- Michelle Roe seeks parole after a fatal crash in Salt Lake City.
- Roe, 64, expressed remorse and recounted personal struggles before the accident.
- The parole board will decide on her release.
SALT LAKE CITY — Michelle Margo Roe tries not to dwell on the past, but admits "it's hard not to."
"I took someone's life, somebody's dad," she said emotionally on Tuesday. Because of that, Roe says she feels guilty even talking about trying to move on and gets depressed.
"It's going to haunt me the rest of my life," she said. "I just wish I could change it. I really would."
In 2024, Roe pleaded guilty to negligently operating a vehicle resulting in death, a third-degree felony. She was sentenced to up to five years in the Utah State Prison.
On Tuesday, Roe, now 64, went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time.
Recounting what was going on at that time in her life, Roe told the board that her father had recently passed away and she relapsed after 15 years of not using drugs. After starting and then briefly stopping several times, Roe admits that because of all the stresses that were happening in her life, she "finally just gave 'er up," and fully relapsed.
"Everything got crazy when I started using again," she said.
Roe admits to using meth on Sept. 11, 2022. The next morning, she got up late for work and then had an argument with her son.
"I should have not got behind the wheel because I was so upset," she said Tuesday. Roe said she then made the "mistake of my life … running that red light."
About 6:50 a.m., Bradley Alan Collins, 38, was hit by Roe's Ford F-150 while on his bicycle in a crosswalk at the intersection of Cottonwood Street and Vine Street. Collins was pronounced dead at the scene. Roe says she ran the red light because she didn't want to be late for work.
"As soon as it happened," Roe says she knew Collins was deceased.
"I could tell (his family) I'm sorry a million times, but I truly am sorry. I don't want to hurt nobody. It still seems like a dream to me, like I'm in a dream," Roe said while again becoming emotional.
Roe says she thinks about Collins, his wife and his children every day.
"He's in my prayers," she said.
Board member Greg Johnson noted Tuesday that Roe had done everything asked of her since being in prison and her discipline record is spotless.
Roe, who outlined several health challenges she is currently facing, talked about the programs she had completed while incarcerated and how she is close to earning her high school GED. She said she has completed the prison's substance abuse program and learned many coping skills such as the proper way to deal with emotional issues and how to make better decisions.
Johnson also noted that "a lot of people" were in attendance at Tuesday's hearing in support of Roe. No representatives from Collins' family spoke on Tuesday.
The full five-member board will now decide whether to grant parole or set a new hearing date.
