Salem Man Sentenced In Lynn Teen's 2021 Wrong-Way Crash Death

SALEM, MA — A Salem man will serve at least the next two decades in jail after he was sentenced in the 2021 wrong-way crash death of a Lynn teen as he was fleeing a robbery in Saugus.

William Leger, 40, was sentenced five years to the day after police said he used a stolen car to rob a 7-11 in Saugus, then fled the wrong way down Route 107 and crashed into a car driven by 19-year-old Ashley Forward of Lynn, killing the teen nursing student.

Leger pleaded guilty to manslaughter, unarmed robbery, and receiving a stolen vehicle charges.

"Ashley was a remarkable young woman with a bright future ahead of her," her mother said during Tuesday's impact statement. "She was kind, compassionate, and always willing to help others no matter what. … Nursing was not just a career choice for her — it reflected who she was.

"She wanted to care for people, to comfort them, and to heal them. Her life mattered deeply — not just to her family, her friends, or the community where she gave so much of her time, but to the people she would have helped along the way."

Leger was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, followed by 6 to 8 years on the unarmed robbery charge, along with 5 years of probation.

Forward was a graduate of KIPP Academy in Lynn who played sports in high school. She had just finished her first year of nursing school at Emmanuel College when she was killed.

She was also a volunteer at My Brother's Table and the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn.