Jacqueline Mars, the heiress to the Mars candy fortune and company co-owner, was involved in a 2013 car accident that killed a woman and an unborn child. The Washington Post reported that, according to authorities, Mars had told a witness at the scene of the accident that she had fallen asleep while driving.
The victims in the accident were identified as 86-year-old grandmother Irene Ellisor, who was sitting in the backseat, and the unborn child of Ashley Acker Blakeslee, the driver of the Chrysler minivan struck by Mars' Porsche SUV. Five other passengers were treated at the hospital.
At the time, Mars was the second-richest woman in the US with a net worth of $20.5 billion — her net worth currently sits at $30.2 billion. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge, resulting in a six-month suspension of her driver's license and a $2,500 fine.
The Acker family said they never wished for Mars to spend time behind bars for the accident.
"We have only forgiveness in our hearts for her," Sharon Acker, Ashley Blakeslee's mother, said in a court statement. "My husband and I would like to say thank you to Mrs. Mars for her kindness thus far and hope in time that she, too, will find peace."