Accused I-229 wrong-way driver appears in court, arraignment scheduled
By Cameron Montemayor
A St. Joseph woman accused of driving the wrong-way on an Interstate 229 exit ramp in May, killing a 33-year old motorcyclist, appeared in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing in the case.
Katherine Deweese stood before Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer, where she waived her right to a preliminary hearing, a move largely expected.
The case has now been moved forward for an arraignment scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 24 in front of Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg.
Deweese, a registered nurse at Mosaic Life Care, is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter — a Class C felony — in connection with a fatal wrong-way crash that killed St. Joseph motorcyclist Ryan Coffman as he exited Interstate 229 on the morning of May 17.
In Missouri, a Class C felony charge for first-degree involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
At the hearing, Deweese was accompanied by a large group of what appeared to be friends and family.
Chandra Roberts, Coffman’s older sister, and Cheryl Luke, his mother, were in attendance with other family and friends of Coffman. The family wore T-shirts that read “Always,” a reply Coffman would often give when saying goodbye to family.
Deweese, 47, is accused of driving a Honda CRV that struck Coffman head-on midway through the Edmond and South Third streets exit ramp from I-229 just before 5 a.m. on May 17. Coffman was taken to Mosaic Life Care with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead, a result of blunt-force trauma to the head.
According to a probable cause statement from St. Joseph police, an odor of an intoxicant was noticed coming from Deweese at the scene of the crash. A preliminary breath sample showed her blood alcohol was at 0.065%. Deweese refused to consent to a blood draw at the law enforcement center. A search warrant was requested and granted and blood was drawn at 7:36 a.m.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab returned the toxicology report showing Deweese’s reporting limit of ethanol was 0.010%. The probable cause statement also said that without being asked, Deweese said she was distracted because she was arguing with her passenger.
After the crash occurred, Deweese remained at the scene and was not taken into custody. At the time of the incident, police said there was no evidence showing the driver had to be arrested, as results from the driver’s blood test and the car’s event data recorder would be needed to determine the appropriate charges.
