Jaime Michelle Carter was sentenced in Leavenworth County District Court to 112 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for convictions of DUI manslaughter and aggravated battery. Carter will serve 36 months of post-release supervision upon completion of her sentence.

On May 25, 2014, Carter drove a passenger vehicle in rural Leavenworth County on Kansas Highway 32. Carter’s vehicle went left of center and ultimately struck a motorcycle carrying two people.

The crash killed Mary Steuber, 49, Gardner, a passenger on the motorcycle her husband was operating. Her husband lived, but injuries caused amputation of his leg from the knee down, according to prosecutors with the office of Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

Law enforcement officers on scene believed Carter to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Field sobriety testing was conducted, to which Carter showed clues of impairment, according to the county attorney’s office. Officers obtained blood and urine samples from Carter. Carter tested positive for methamphetamine and other prescription medications. A search warrant was executed on Carter’s vehicle and officers discovered 11 different bottles of prescription medications. All bottles were marked with warning labels advising they could cause drowsiness.

Carter faced a standard sentence of 56 months for the DUI-manslaughter and 32 months for the aggravated battery per the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines.

The prosecutor’s office filed a motion for the court to depart from the guideline sentence and increase Carter’s sentence due to aggravating factors outlined in its motion. The court granted the motion and ordered Carter to serve 80 months prison for DUI manslaughter for the first count. The court ordered the 32 months prison for the aggravated battery in the second count to run consecutive to the first count.