PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) — A Pike County jury found 48-year-old Dusty Ratliff guilty of second-degree manslaughter Wednesday in connection with a 2022 fatal crash on Elkhorn Creek Road.

Ratliff had been charged with murder in the death of James Kelly, but jurors convicted her on the lesser charge after more than an hour of deliberations.

Prosecutors argued Ratliff was driving at an excessive speed when her truck crossed into the opposite lane and struck Kelly’s vehicle head-on. Crash reconstruction evidence presented during the trial estimated the truck was traveling around 92 miles per hour before the collision.

Ratliff testified she swerved to avoid deer in the roadway and could not remember what happened after that.

The jury recommended a 10-year prison sentence, and Ratliff was taken into custody pending formal sentencing.