SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — A Sevier County woman with a history of driving while impaired pleaded guilty to multiple charges Thursday that require a little less than a year in jail and a six-year prohibition from driving.
Sevier County Circuit Court Judge James Gass at first appeared reluctant but ultimately accepted Julie Huskey's plea deal with Sevier County prosecutors.
Rocky Robinson, who suffered injuries when Huskey hit him head-on in May, attended the hearing and agreed with the deal, his grandfather Mark Nichols said.
Huskey, 48, pleaded guilty in one case, dating to January, to DUI 3rd offense and filing a false report. Separately she pleaded guilty in the May case to vehicular assault, a felony. Under the agreement other charges from the May case -- such as a different DUI 3rd offense charge -- merged together, defense attorney T. Scott Jones said.
“She regrets the circumstances that put her in that situation and understands that she has to do better and deal with her alcohol problem one day at a time. She’s just thankful that the young man is going to be OK and that he did not lose his life -- and that she is being given an opportunity at life as well,” T. Scott Jones, who represents Julie Huskey, told WBIR.
Huskey has been in jail since July awaiting prosecution in lieu of $250,000 bond. With credit for time already served, she'll likely spend another 6 1/2 to 7 months behind bars before getting out.
Other terms of the agreement include: She won't be eligible for a restricted license during the six years that she's prohibited from driving, Jones said. She also races a total fine of about $2,100, and she has to attend DUI school, he said.
Huskey has been repeatedly arrested for DUI, records show, but has served little time in jail.
In 2022, WBIR found, authorities arrested her after she landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport from a Knoxville flight in a severely intoxicated state. During the arrest process, she falsely accused a law officer of sexual assault, bodycam showed.
She was arrested Jan. 13 on suspicion of driving impaired. She was charged with DUI 3rd offense as a result, taking into account two prior DUIs from 2012 and 2017, records shows. While getting a blood test after her arrest, she falsely accused a police officer of sexual assault.
Then on the night of May 21 she was involved in the head-on crash that injured Robinson on Veterans Boulevard in Pigeon Forge. The night of the crash a Pigeon Forge officer reported that Huskey was slurring her words. The officer saw a bottle of Tito's vodka that was 3/4ths empty in her vehicle, according to records.
The January case was still pending at the time of the May crash. Robinson's family told WBIR they couldn't understand why authorities allowed Huskey to continue to drive, considering her lengthy arrest history.
Nichols said his grandson has suffered a lot as a result of what she did. He suffered multiple broken bones and a concussion in the crash.
Career opportunities he hoped to achieve now aren't an option for him, he said. The family had to build a ramp for the wheelchair he had to use after being hit by Huskey.
"There are things he wanted to do that he can't do now," Nichols said Thursday.
The crash has affected everyone in the family, Nichols said.
Ultimately, however, the family decided the agreement was an acceptable resolution for the charges against Huskey, he said.
