'Little Women: Atlanta' star sentenced to 16 years in prison

Former Little Women: Atlanta star Melissa Hancock has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for killing a man while driving under the influence on a Virginia, USA highway.

Hancock was reportedly sentenced on Wednesday October 10 after pleading guilty to manslaughter, driving the wrong way on a highway and disobeying a highway traffic sign.

The accident occurred on November 4, 2017 at approximately 2am. 26-year-old Hancock collided her vehicle with that of 29-year-old U.S. Coast Guard technician Daniel Dill’s.

Dill died of injuries caused by the crash the following day. He had been on his way to pick up his wife, who had been celebrating a friend’s birthday at a bar.

Hancock had over twice the US legal limit of alcohol in her system at the time of the accident. In her court hearing, she admitted to drinking between two and four mixed alcohol drinks that evening before driving.

Her sentence resulted in 20 years behind bars, five years suspended for involuntary manslaughter and one year for driving under the influence. This will result in a total of 16 years behind bars. She was also fined $3000 (£2,271).

Hancock appeared in two episodes of the second series of the popular Lifetime reality series Little Women: Atlanta in 2016. The reality show is a spin-off of fellow Lifetime reality series Little Women: LA and both follow the lives of little people as they navigate their careers and love lives.

A court summons listed Hancock as 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and weighing 77 pounds (35 kilograms).

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