Moore Police Officer Sentenced In Connection With Crash Which Killed High School Student

A Moore police officer who killed a high school student in a 2019 crash will serve time in prison. 

An Oklahoma City police crash investigator testified Kyle Lloyd was traveling 96 mph in a 50-mph zone and hit the brakes 1.2 seconds before colliding with 18-year-old Emily Gaines’ turning vehicle. Gaines was traveling to Moore High School to take an ACT test.

“This is the saddest case I’ve ever had,” Cleveland County Judge Jeff Virgin said before sentencing Lloyd to 9 years in prison and 9 years of probation on the first-degree manslaughter charge. 

Prosecutors asked Lloyd be sentenced to 18-years in prison to remind him of Gaines’ age at the time of the crash. 

“I want that number to be significant to Mr. Lloyd for the rest of his life,” Assistant District Attorney SuAnne Carlson told the court. 

A pending federal lawsuit filed by family states Lloyd was driving to assist a fellow officer at a Chick-Fil-A who had locked themselves out of their police vehicle while participating in a 'Shop with a Cop' event.

“Instead of enforcing the law, he was blatantly disregarding it,” Carlson said, arguing while Lloyd did not intend to kill Gains, he did intend to drive at a dangerously high rate of speed. 

Read: Off-Duty Moore Police Officer Accused Of Manslaughter Turns Himself In To Cleveland Co. Jail, Bonds Out

“The memory of that morning will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Emily’s mother Dana Gaines said in court. “I will never forget walking back into the house and seeing her shoes in the hall where she kicked them off, knowing she would never wear them again.”  

Dana said she learned of the wreck by a Facebook post before checking Emily’s location on her phone. 

“Emily was beautiful, smart, funny, sometimes salty, but always had a kind heart and a giving spirit,” Dana said. 

OKCPD MSgt. Mark Sexton testified the 14-year veteran Moore police officer was speeding in his personal car when he hit Gaines and caused her vehicle to roll at the intersection of 134th Street and Sooner Road. He said his investigation found Gaines committed no wrong-doing and could have cleared the intersection had Lloyd been traveling at the posted 50 mph speed limit. 

EMSA paramedic Dale Carey told the court, when he informed Llyod the teenager died because of the collision, Lloyd replied, “great, that just made my day.” 

The defense submitted more than 30 letters from Moore police officers testifying to Lloyd’s character.

They argued because of Lloyd’s police training, he was better equipped to drive at such a high rate of speed. 

Clarson said the resulting crash shows that assessment to be inaccurate.

Lloyd is still employed by the Moore Police Department and was taken into custody by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office after sentencing. 

“The Moore Police Department feels sorrow for everyone involved in the tragic event that resulted in the death of Moore High School Senior, Emily Gaines,” Chief Todd Gibson said in a statement. “The legal proceedings of June 30, 2021 have allowed us to initiate an internal investigation.”