OCALA, Fla. — WWE Hall of Famer Tamara Lynn “Sunny” Sytch, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for driving while drunk in Florida and causing the death of a man in a crash, has been moved to a state prison for women.
Sytch, 52, was moved from the Florida Women’s Reception Center in Ocala to the Lowell Correctional Institution, a facility located less than a mile to the northwest, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website. She was transferred to the Lowell facility earlier this month.
The former women’s professional wrestler and manager, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Nov. 27, 2023, after her conviction for the March 25, 2022, crash that killed Julian Lafrancis Lasseter. She also received eight years of probation.
According to its website, Lowell Correctional has 968 inmates. It offers several academic and vocational programs and also has substance abuse programs.
Prosecutors said Sytch had three different DUI arrests and convictions during 2015 and was also driving with a suspended license at the time of the 2022 crash, WFTV reported.
Sytch pleaded no contest on Aug. 26, 2023, to one count of DUI manslaughter; driving while license suspended with death; four counts of DUI with damage to person; and two counts of DUI with damage to property.
According to a news release from the Ormond Beach Police Department, Sytch was driving a 2012 Mercedes southbound on U.S. 1 around 8:28 p.m. on March 25, 2022. Police said Sytch hit a 2013 Kia Sorrento driven by Lasseter, 75, which was stopped at a traffic light.
The impact sent the Kia into the rear of a 2011 GMC Yukon, which was stopped in front of the Kia at the light, according to the news release.
Lasseter died after the Mercedes hit his car, police said. The passengers in the third car were injured but did not go to the hospital, according to the news release.
According to court records, Sytch’s blood-alcohol content was between 0.32 and 0.36 just less than an hour after the crash. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08.
Wrestling as Sunny, Sytch debuted in the Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion in the early 1990s, according to the WWE Encyclopedia. She debuted as a manager in 1995 and later became a broadcaster and ring announcer.
According to court and prison records, Sytch’s current release date is Dec. 22, 2039.
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