Driver sentenced after passenger dies in vehicle vs. home crash in Topeka
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A Shawnee County judge has sentenced a woman for her role in a deadly crash that claimed the life of a 36-year-old man in 2024.
A judge sentenced Hailey C. Pelton to almost three-and-a-half years in prison on Oct. 17. Pelton was accused of causing a deadly vehicle vs. house crash in 2024 that killed her passenger, Troy L. Fields Jr., last year. Pelton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Aug. 11, 2025.
Police were called around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2024 to the area of Southwest Huntoon Street and Southwest Plass Avenue regarding reports of a vehicle striking a nearby home. Officers arriving at the scene found a vehicle had hit a house near the intersection.
First responders found a passenger in the vehicle, identified as Fields, had been ejected in the crash. Medical crews transported Fields to a nearby hospital where he was later declared dead.
Prosecutors later charged Pelton for her role in the deadly crash on June 9, 2025. Three of her original four charges were eventually dismissed.
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