Crime & Safety

Mother Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Daughter in Crash

A woman pleads not guilty to driving while drunk and crashing the family's car, killing her 9-year-old daughter.

A mother accused of killing her daughter in an alcohol-fueled car crash pleaded not guilty today.

Karen Faye Honeycutt, 41, was charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. She also faced a sentence enhancement for having multiple prior convictions of drunken driving.

She also pleaded not guilty today to violating parole stemming from an unrelated incident, according to court records.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Honeycutt was charged on April 30 with driving on a license that was suspended due to a drunken driving conviction, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to the charge on July 27.

Honeycutt appeared in court today wearing a blue women’s prison uniform, hair disheveled and her wrists and ankles in chains. The dark bruises and swelling she had on her face shortly after the crash were healed.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The crash happened just before 3 p.m. Jan. 26 when she was speeding on Vail Ranch Parkway near Valentino Way with her three of her children in the car, according to Vickie Rizzi of the District Attorney’s office.

Honeycutt drove her Jeep Grand Cherokee onto the center divider, knocked over a tree and crashed into a light pole, according to Sgt. Mark Leggett of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The impact threw Honeycutt’s 9-year-old daughter, Chloe Honeycutt, and her 17-year-old half-brother, Charles “Tre” Williams, from the jeep. The teen, who has cerebral palsy, suffered serious injuries. Neither child was wearing a seat belt.

Honeycutt’s 8-year-old son, Zachery “Myles” Honeycutt, suffered only minor injuries. He was the only child wearing a seatbelt, according to Leggitt.

Chloe was rushed to a hospital and declared dead about an hour after the crash, according to a coroner’s report.

Williams had several surgeries, including putting a bolt in his neck, and he’s recovering at his father’s house, according to Aaron Honeycutt, Karen’s ex-husband and the father of Chloe and Zachery.

The youngest child recovered completely physically, but he still hasn’t spoken about the accident. The couple’s other son, Aaron Honeycutt Jr., took it the hardest, his father said.

“He’s taking it hard, he’s taking it the hardest,” the father said. His son came across the scene of the crash while walking home from Great Oak High School.

The children’s father, who sat in the audience during the arraignment hearing, is fighting to deal with life right now, he said. “It’s tough, I’m not going to lie,” he said after the hearing. “I don’t even want to think about it right now.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.