Karen Honeycutt (Booking Photo) |
TEMECULA (KTLA) -- A Temecula woman was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison for driving under the influence in a crash that killed her 9-year-old daughter.
Karen Faye Honeycutt, 41, admitted to drunk driving and pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of her daughter, Chloe Honeycutt, in January 2011. She also pleaded guilty to inflicting great bodily harm on two of her other children who survived the crash.
Honeycutt may have had up to a dozen beers, court records show. She was charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence of a drug and alcohol, gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level more than .08 percent, according to court documents.
The documents also showed that police found an empty beer can in Honeycutt's vehicle after the crash, and 11 more empty cans at her home.
Investigators said Honeycutt had a blood-alcohol level of .22 percent, nearly 3 times the legal limit.
Toxicology tests also revealed traces of marijuana in her blood.
Honeycutt's 9-year-old daughter, Chloe, 8-year-old son Zachary, aka "Myles," and 17-year-old son Charles William Jr., known as "Tre," were riding in their mother's Jeep when it spun out of control and hit a light pole and overturned on Jan. 26.
Investigators say Chloe and Tre were not wearing seat belts. They were both thrown from the vehicle. Chloe was killed in the accident, and Tre suffered a broken back.
Myles was wearing a seat belt, and he was not seriously hurt.
Honeycutt sustained a broken neck.
Myles told investigators that his mother had been drinking a beer and cursing while waiting to pick up one of his siblings from school, court records reveal.
Honeycutt had four prior DUI convictions between February 1994 and September 2009, according to police. Her driver's license had been suspended, but she was able to get a new one in July 2010 after she completed a DUI alcohol treatment program.
Honeycutt's 16-year-old son, Aaron Jr., was not in the car at the time of the crash.
He came across the scene while walking home from Great Oak High School.
Info from the Press Enterprise
Karen Faye Honeycutt, 41, admitted to drunk driving and pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of her daughter, Chloe Honeycutt, in January 2011. She also pleaded guilty to inflicting great bodily harm on two of her other children who survived the crash.
Honeycutt may have had up to a dozen beers, court records show. She was charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence of a drug and alcohol, gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol level more than .08 percent, according to court documents.
The documents also showed that police found an empty beer can in Honeycutt's vehicle after the crash, and 11 more empty cans at her home.
Investigators said Honeycutt had a blood-alcohol level of .22 percent, nearly 3 times the legal limit.
Toxicology tests also revealed traces of marijuana in her blood.
Honeycutt's 9-year-old daughter, Chloe, 8-year-old son Zachary, aka "Myles," and 17-year-old son Charles William Jr., known as "Tre," were riding in their mother's Jeep when it spun out of control and hit a light pole and overturned on Jan. 26.
Investigators say Chloe and Tre were not wearing seat belts. They were both thrown from the vehicle. Chloe was killed in the accident, and Tre suffered a broken back.
Myles was wearing a seat belt, and he was not seriously hurt.
Honeycutt sustained a broken neck.
Myles told investigators that his mother had been drinking a beer and cursing while waiting to pick up one of his siblings from school, court records reveal.
Honeycutt had four prior DUI convictions between February 1994 and September 2009, according to police. Her driver's license had been suspended, but she was able to get a new one in July 2010 after she completed a DUI alcohol treatment program.
Honeycutt's 16-year-old son, Aaron Jr., was not in the car at the time of the crash.
He came across the scene while walking home from Great Oak High School.
Info from the Press Enterprise
