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Woman arrested in fatal hit-and-run case had prior DUI convictions

Kassy Winburn, 34, had two prior incidents involving driving and alcohol, as well as an incident where she pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death.

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The woman who was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence in relation to a fatal hit-and-run Thursday has a prior DUI conviction and was involved in another crash that killed an 88-year-old woman.

Kassy Winburn, 34, was arrested early Thursday morning after the Sheriff's Office said she drove her car into the back of a motorcyclist on Interstate 25 near East Harmony Road 

Credit: KUSA
Kassy Winburn

RELATED: 34-year-old woman in custody following fatal hit-and-run involving a motorcycle

The motorcyclist who died is 38-year-old Greeley resident, Joseph Kroiss.

Credit: Erica Stier Kroiss

Kroiss was a father of four girls, ages 16, 15, 13 and 9. He moved to Colorado four years ago from Minnesota.

Credit: Erica Stier Kroiss

His wife, Erica Stier Kroiss, describes him as a wonderful, devoted father, someone who was goofy, generous and a lover of the outdoors. Joseph Kroiss was a "great mechanic and loved to fix things," wrote Erica Stier Kroiss in a message to 9NEWS.

Credit: Erica Stier Kroiss

Not only was the crash upsetting to the family, but Erica Stier Kroiss said the fact that Winburn had a prior criminal history made it much harder.

In April 2016, Winburn pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death and careless driving resulting in injury.

She was fined and sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was suspended, 18 months probation, as well as 150 hours of community service.

RELATED: Man with multiple DUIs found guilty of first-degree murder in crash that killed woman driving home from church

That stemmed from an incident in November 2015 that ended in the death of 88-year-old Loveland resident Olive Heaton. The Reporter-Herald reported at the time that the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said Winburn failed to stop at a stop sign while driving southbound on County Road 13 and collided with another car.

RELATED: Is Colorado's felony DUI law working? The struggle to stop repeat offenders from still driving drunk

Winburn's car then ran into a fence, pushing the other driver's car into the eastbound lane, which created a head-on collision with a third car, according to CSP. Heaton was a passenger in that third car.

RELATED: Repeat drunk driver given multiple second chances before crash killed woman headed home from church

Winburn was also charged with driving under revocation for that incident, court records show. She later pleaded guilty to that charge as well and was sentenced to an additional 20 days in jail.

Winburn's criminal history also shows two incidents involving driving and alcohol.

In January 2014, Winburn was arrested for DUI and later pleaded that down to driving while ability impaired (DWAI). She was sentenced to 20 days in jail and 48 hours of community service for that case.

RELATED: A fatal drunk driving crash, 18 years in prison, then 3 more DUIs — and a plea deal

And in 2009, Winburn was charged with two counts of child abuse and DUI. The child abuse charges were later dropped, and she pleaded guilty to DUI.

Winburn was booked into Larimer County Jail for Thursday's incident. Bond was set at $30,000 and has not yet been posted, according to court records.

Winburn's next court date is set for July 3 at 8:30 a.m.

Winburn has a lengthy criminal history, with arrests for domestic violence, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructing an officer, resisting arrest and more.

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