Colorado woman who caused head-on crash that killed deputy receives probation sentence
A 39-year-old woman from LaSalle, Colorado, was recently sentenced to a lengthy probation term rather than prison after crossing over the center line on Christmas Eve two years ago and killing an off-duty deputy in a head-on collision.
Kayla Remus Carroll was driving northbound on Weld County 49 in rural Weld County on Dec. 24, 2023, when her Toyota pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic. The front driver's side corner of her truck struck the same corner of another Toyota pickup traveling in the opposite direction.
Carroll's truck spun back into the northbound lanes. Carroll was eventually flown to a hospital by a medical copter. Her two children, a 1-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, were also injured and driven to hospitals.
The only person in the other truck, 31-year-old Joshua Maloy, died at the scene. Maloy was a deputy for the Adams County Sheriff's Office and was off duty at the time of the crash.
A Colorado State Patrol investigation into the crash estimated that both trucks were traveling at the posted 65 mph speed limit when they collided.
Carroll pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, a felony, last December, almost two years after the crash. Other charges were dropped.
At the end of a sentencing hearing on Feb. 9, Weld County District Judge Annette Kundelius sentenced Carroll to eight years of supervised probation. Carroll was also ordered to pay $35,000 in fees, including $20,000 toward the costs of her probation and more than $14,000 to the deputy's family for his funeral expenses.
A spokesperson for the Weld County District Attorney's Office told CBS Colorado that its prosecutors and Carroll's defense team agreed to allow the judge to make the final determination on Carroll's punishment, known as an "open sentencing." But the spokesperson stated that the DA's prosecutors suggested a sentence of five years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Carroll spoke at the sentencing about the extent of injuries she suffered in the collision, according to the DA's office. She also spoke about being unconscious for three weeks after the crash, and said she now suffers from seizures and has lost the use of her arm. She will never drive again, she told the court.
Tori Maloy also addressed the court about the loss of her husband, Joshua. Unable to recite the statement she prepared without crying, Tori Maloy's sister read it aloud for her.
"My world was taken from me," Tori Maloy wrote, according to the Greeley Tribune.
Joshua Maloy's parents and co-workers spoke as well and pointed out that Carroll was driving with a revoked license when the fatal crash occurred.
Judge Kundelius acknowledged the Maloy family's loss, the DA's office confirmed. The judge also expressed doubt that Carroll's medical needs would be met if imprisoned, and believed Carroll, who had no criminal offenses prior to the crash, would respond well to the terms of the probation.
