SALT LAKE CITY — The mother of an unbuckled 3-year-old girl killed in a car accident last year was sentenced Friday to 10 days in jail.

None of the eight children in the SUV she was driving were wearing seat belts when the accident occurred, police said at the time. The Salt Lake woman had also been cited the year before for not having young children in proper restraints while driving.

Carolyn Dawn Hughes, 24, entered a plea in abeyance to a charge of negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, Friday, just one day short of a year after her daughter was killed in the wreck.

The plea will be held for 18 months, according to court records, and Hughes was advised it can be used as an enhancement on new charges.

Hughes was sentenced to 10 days in jail that will begin Sept. 16, followed by 18 months of probation and 300 hours of community service. She was also ordered to complete a reckless driving course and surrender her driving rights while the plea is held in abeyance, her attorney confirmed.

The maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor is up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Hughes was driving a Chevy Trailblazer with eight children on Sept. 3, 2015, near 2700 South and Redwood Road when she attempted a left turn in front of an oncoming Nissan Altima, causing a collision, according to charging documents.

Her daughter, Paisley Hayden, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the Trailblazer as it was knocked onto its side, landing partially on top of the 3-year-old, according to the charges. Paisley died at the scene.

A 2-year-old brother also sustained critical leg injuries in the crash, police said. The man driving the Nissan suffered a broken arm.

Hughes later admitted to investigators that not all of the children were restrained in the vehicle, charging documents state. She and the remaining six children, who were members of other families, sustained scrapes and bruises, according to police.

According to court records, Hughes was ticketed in May 2014 for not having young children in proper restraints while driving.

Related:

Mom whose unbuckled child died was cited for unbuckled kids last year

A Salt Lake woman driving an SUV carrying eight children without seat belts that crashed Thursday, killing a 3-year-old girl, was ticketed last year for not having young children in proper restraints, according to court documents.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper reported that three children between the ages of 1 and 3 years old were in the rear seat without any child restraint or seat belt when he pulled over a vehicle Hughes was driving on I-80 in Summit County, a report states. Hughes paid a $95 fee for the 2014 infraction.

Steve Burton, Hughes' attorney, said that while he didn't agree with the jail sentence, he appreciated that prosecutors were willing to resolve the case without going to trial and in a way that could ultimately keep the homicide charge off of Hughes' record.

"Requiring additional jail time or requiring the court to impose jail time, I cannot see that that provides any kind of consequence that could be even close to the consequences she is already suffering. She will suffer the consequences of her actions for the rest of her life," Burton said. "I don't understand what purpose that serves to try to somehow make society better other than just a desire to inflict punishment."

Burton said he also opposed taking Hughes away from her other children, even for 10 days, but the deal avoids the possibility she could be taken from them for longer.

Burton, who has represented Hughes since charges were filed in May, called the woman a generous person and a devoted mother. The attorney said he received numerous letters of support from Hughes' family and friends.

"It's just such a sad thing that this happened to her," Burton said. "Her friends and family just didn't take using seat belts as seriously as most people do these days. I don't think she truly grasped what could have happened."

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