LITHOPOLIS, Ohio (WCMH) — A driver who hit and killed a 9-year-old girl and left her mother critically injured was sentenced to prison Thursday.
Kim Patrick Horton, 68, of Canal Winchester, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the July 2021 death of Ruth E. Jones, 9, and the critical injuries sustained by her mother, Elizabeth A. Jones, 38, according to court records from the Fairfield County Common Pleas Court.
While Horton was driving westbound on Lithopolis Road near Salem Church Road, he reportedly lost control and drove off the right side of the roadway, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Horton came back onto the roadway continuing westbound onto East Columbus Street but failed to negotiate a curve, traveling off the right side of the roadway and striking a small produce stand being operated by Ruth and Elizabeth Jones, the OSHP said. Horton also struck a house, and the vehicle came to a halt after hitting a tree.
Elizabeth Jones, of Carroll, was taken to Mount Carmel East in critical condition, and her daughter was pronounced dead at the scene.
Horton pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, a second degree felony, and aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, court records state. A judge suspended the 68-year-old’s license for life.