LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky woman convicted of killing three people while driving under the influence in the wrong direction on I-265 in 2021 must serve out the entirety of her original 12-year-prison term, but she will have to spend less time on probation than originally sentenced.

Taylor Barefoot was 31 when she pleaded guilty in March 2021 to three counts of causing death while operating a motor vehicle while drunk, and one count of involuntary manslaughter. The involuntary manslaughter charge is in connection with the death of an unborn fetus caused by the crash.

Barefoot originally received a 20-year sentence and was required to serve 12 years, followed by eight years of supervised probation. In December she petitioned the court for early release, saying she has been trying to improve herself while in prison. She also cited hardships, saying her husband has filed for divorce and she has not seen her daughter in person. Barefoot is serving her time at the Rockville Correctional Facility and said she does not want her daughter to see her in prison.

On Friday, Floyd County Circuit Court Judge J. Terrence "Terry" Cody reduced her sentence to 18 years, with a requirement that she still serve 12 of those years in prison, but her required probation period was shortened from eight to six years.

According to court documents, Barefoot was drunk when she drove westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 265 in Floyd County, Indiana, in the evening hours of March 7, 2020, before she collided head-on into an oncoming vehicle. Taylor Cole, 21, her 3-year-old son and a passenger, Leah Renee Dunn, 22, were killed in the crash. Dunn's 3-year-old son was also injured in the crash.

According to evidence and testimony, Barefoot had been at a work party in downtown Jeffersonville and was seen on video consuming five mixed drinks over about two hours. Her blood-alcohol content after the crash was 0.30, nearly four times Indiana’s legal limit for driving of 0.08.

Family and friends of the victims strongly opposed the release, but were unable to speak at the hearing when she made the request. 

"We decided to do the protest because the signs basically said what we wanted to say," said Carla McDonough, the mother of one of the victims, Taylor Cole. "We didn't know if we were gonna get to speak in there. Turns out we could not. Barefoot could talk about how great she's doing and all the things she's completed and everything how she's doing so great, but what about us? We didn't get to tell her our life is, how I'm suffering. I don't care if she's suffering, she deserves to suffer."

During December's hearing Judge Cody said he would carefully consider Barefoot's testimony, as well as evidence and letters from family members before he issued his ruling.  

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