Wise County woman pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter

A Wise County driver has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and DUI in connection to a fatal crash on Route 23.

Laya Maude Belcher, 60, of Wise pleaded guilty to those charges in Circuit Court and will be sentenced in October, according to information from Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp.

A bottle of Vodka was found in Belcher’s floorboard following the September crash in Powell Valley outside Norton. Police said Belcher was driving in wrong direction when her vehicle hit an SUV head-on, killing Sharon Dorton, 62, of Big Stone Gap.

(MUGSHOT: SWVRJ)