OGDEN -- A negotiation has been reached in a mother's car crash that killed her own daughter.
Brandi Stilke, 26, was charged with operating a vehicle negligently to cause the death of another, a second-degree felony, in the Feb. 23 one-car crash that killed her 3-year-old daughter, Aubree.
Stilke has pleaded guilty to the fatally operating a vehicle charge. The second-degree felony carries a maximum prison term of one to 15 years.
In return for the guilty plea, a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance and a class C misdemeanor charge of open container in a vehicle were dismissed.
Sentencing was set for Sept. 20 after Wednesday's hearing in 2nd District Court.
"I'm hopeful of avoiding prison time," Stilke's defense attorney, Roy Cole, said in an interview.
"There's no way to avoid jail time. She's likely do some serious jail time at least. It's a difficult case, because she's also a victim."
Stilke's car left U.S. 89 at 1140 North in Harrisville the afternoon of Feb. 23, traveling more than 300 feet at nearly 50 mph to strike a rock landscaping barrier. Stilke told officers she had passed out after bumping her head in the car.
In her statement to police, the last thing Stilke said she remembered was fixing a toy for Aubree, who was in a car seat in the vehicle's back seat, according to testimony at Stilke's June 7 preliminary hearing.
Police found a bottle of OxyContin painkillers in the car, along with an empty pint of Malibu rum.
The little girl died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to testimony. Stilke was hospitalized briefly with a dislocated hip and cracked pelvis.
Police said no signs of braking were evident on the car's 323-foot path from roadway to boulders. The car was traveling 58 mph when it left the road and had slowed to 48 mph at the time of impact.
Toxicology screening showed Stilke's blood tested positive for the prescription painkiller oxycodone and marijuana at the time of the crash.
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