McCreary originally faced felony charges of DWI resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter, but prosecutors later reduced the charges to a misdemeanor DWI charge. In court Thursday, prosecutors asked Judge Manansala to sentence McCreary to six months jail time.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office stated that their deputies, Lincoln County deputies, Arkansas State Police and airport personnel then began searching for the pilot and the crash site. At around 8 p.m., deputies were able to find the pilot and the plane in Lincoln County.

A now-former Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation for driving while intoxicated in an April 2023 crash that killed his wife.

Colby McCreary, a former Jefferson County sheriff's deputy, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated.

Birmingham police were on the scene of a crash that shut down part of Highway 78 in the Pratt City area Wednesday. It happened during a chase involving Jefferson County deputies, according to police. The pursuit ended with the crash involving several cars shortly before 9 a.m. at Trilby Street near Cherry Avenue.

A former sheriff’s deputy accused of causing a crash that killed his wife in 2023 will avoid time in prison, Missouri officials said.