A 24-year-old Vancleave woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison following a deadly crash on Biloxi’s Popp’s Ferry Bridge.
Katelyn Anita Posey pleaded guilty this week to felony DUI causing death in the incident that killed 45-year-old Biloxi resident Leonardo Ricco. The head-on accident occurred on July 20, 2025, around 8:38 p.m.
According to Assistant District Attorney Mara Joffe, many witnesses witnessed Posey driving strangely prior to the incident.
“Several witnesses described Posey as driving erratically immediately before the accident, swerving into oncoming traffic as she traveled southbound on Popps Ferry Road and nearly hitting multiple other vehicles before colliding with the vehicle of the victim, Leonardo Ricco,” Joffe stated.
According to officials, the force of the impact lifted Ricco’s vehicle into the Popp’s Ferry Bridge’s concrete barrier.
Witnesses reported that Posey appeared bewildered and had slurred speech following the crash. She also told medical workers that she had been drinking. A blood draw at the hospital revealed that her blood alcohol level was 0.128%.
Posey stated in her plea that she remembered drinking but not the circumstances of the crash or driving her car that day. She called it an “irreversible decision” and claimed the night “haunts” her.
Posey’s decision to drive drunk, according to Ricco’s family, was “a completely preventable act.” W. Crosby Parker, the district attorney, reiterated that.
“When someone chooses to drive after drinking, they risk not only their own life but also the lives of every family on the road. Leonardo Ricco should have gone home to see his loved ones that night. Instead, one stupid decision permanently altered numerous lives,” Parker stated. “We hope this sentence provides a measure of accountability while serving as a reminder that impaired driving carries devastating and irreversible consequences.”
Judge Randi P. Mueller ordered a 25-year sentence, suspended for 12 years, leaving Posey with 13 years to serve in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
While the victim’s life was lost in the “awful tragedy,” Judge Mueller stated that Posey still has the option to alter her life, noting, “What you chose to do with [that opportunity] is important.”
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