HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A woman convicted of killing a Harris County sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Kelly Jo Ivey was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter Thursday in the death of Deputy Jesse Valdez III in a 2014 car crash.
Ivey has been fined $10,000 and will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said Thursday he was pleased with the verdict.
"As I sat through testimony a couple days ago, we saw how complex this case was and how well-prepared the District Attorney's Office was in pursuing this case. We are very pleased with the outcome," Hickman said.
Valdez's mother said Thursday the verdict brought closure to the family.
"I could not have done this without the Harris County Sheriff's Office. This is not something you plan for in life. I always dreaded that proverbial knock on the door, if you will, for this type of career, but they were beside me the whole way," Deborah Valdez said.
Prosecutors are seeking life in prison for Ivey.
According to investigators, Ivey, 29, was under the influence of drugs when the SUV she was driving collided head-on into Valdez's patrol car.
The fatal crash happened on East Wallisville Road and Oleander Street in Highlands on Oct. 29.
Valdez was traveling eastbound on the road when Ivey, who was westbound, crossed into the deputy's lane and struck his patrol car.
Valdez's car spun into a roadside drainage ditch, and Ivey's SUV spun into the center of the intersection.
"When one of your neighbors, your colleagues or one of your workers or anybody needs help, you go and my natural muscle memory was to go help," said Jason Crooks who lives near the crash scene.
"When I saw how bad he really was, it was he probably wasn't going to make it," Crooks said. "I just pleaded with him to keep fighting. It was real emotional. It's a tough thing to live with still."
Emergency medical services personnel extricated the 32-year-old deputy from the car and airlifted him to Memorial Hermann Trauma Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
In opening statements, prosecutors said Ivey was high on crystal methamphetamine at the time of the accident. However, defense attorneys said Ivey is not to blame. They said someone else was driving the night of the accident.
Valdez became the 40th Harris County Sheriff's Office employee to die in the line of duty in the 177-year history of the agency.
Ivey was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital for treatment. A male passenger in the SUV was treated at the crash site.
Ivey was charged with intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer and possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine.
It was not the first time she was accused of a drug-related crime.
Authorities say she was released from a Texas prison earlier in October after serving part of a two-year sentence on a previous methamphetamine case.
In March 2014, Ivey pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and agreed to the two-year sentence, according to court records. She was released on parole on Oct. 2.
Ivey also served time behind bars in two theft cases, according to court records.
Valdez was an 11-year veteran assigned to the patrol bureau. His friends called him a "stand-up guy."
As a patrolman in 2013, Valdez was commended for helping save the life of a man who had been overcome by heavy smoke in a house fire.
Valdez was a single father with a 10-year-old son.