Hutch Post

NEWTON — A Halstead woman has been arrested on a warrant for a charge of involuntary manslaughter and another charge of vehicular homicide.

Kala Horton, 40, was arrested on a $10,000 bond for the charge in Harvey County.

The accident occurred on June 3, 2014, when Crystal Stauffer, 29, Newton was jogging in the 2700 block of NW 12th.

Horton was driving, stuck and killed Stauffer.

According to authorities, Horton told investigators she had been rolling up her window to prevent air and dust getting into her face from a passing vehicle.

While rolling up her window the vehicle drifted to the right. When she looked back up she saw Stauffer walking on the road, but was unable to avoid hitting her with her car.

Investigators say Horton’s speech was slow and slurred during her interview. She told them she had a stroke three weeks prior and she was having a reaction to the medications. It caused her tongue to swell.

Horton had been traveling to Newton to buy Benadryl to help her with her reaction to her medications. When asked when the last time was she had used any illegal narcotics, she responded it had been years ago.

A blood draw was done on Horton, as is the procedure for all fatality accidents. The blood was sent to the KBI laboratory for analysis and on Jan. 30, the blood test was completed. The test revealed a positive screen for methamphetamine.