Judge grants continuance, I-229 wrong-way fatality case could go to trial
By Cameron Montemayor
A St. Joseph woman accused of hitting and killing a motorcyclist in a wrong-way collision on an Interstate 229 exit ramp in May could be headed to trial after a Buchanan County judge granted a continuance for the discovery of evidence in the case on Thursday.
An emotional hearing concluded with Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg granting a request from Katherine Deweese’s attorney, Mark Wissehr, for a continuance of 30 days to proceed with the discovery of evidence in the case.
A trial setting has been scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21. If the case does proceed, Deweese will be given the option to select a trial by either judge or jury.
Deweese, 47, of St. Joseph, is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter — a Class C felony — and is accused of driving the wrong way up an Interstate 229 exit ramp and crashing head-on with St. Joseph motorcyclist Ryan Coffman. Coffman was pronounced dead later that day.
Shortly after the hearing concluded, emergency medical responders were called to the courthouse after Chandra Roberts, Coffman’s sister, fainted in the hallway and went unconscious, sustaining a hard hit to the head in the process. Roberts was later escorted by multiple paramedics out of the courthouse to an ambulance for further evaluation and released a short time later.
“Today was a really hard day. In the beginning, we were in shock, now it’s hitting hard for the whole family,” Cheryl Luke, Coffman’s mother, told News-Press NOW outside the courtroom. “I don’t want to be quiet, I want to be loud about this.”
Luke and family members suspect the case will indeed go to trial. The family of Coffman has also filed a separate civil suit against Deweese for wrongful death.
Just before 5 a.m. on May 17, Coffman was struck midway through a northbound exit ramp head-on by a Honda CRV going in the wrong direction and ejected from his motorcycle. Coffman was transported 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. 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 later 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 statement also said that without being asked, Deweese told authorities she was distracted because she was arguing with a 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 direct 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 appropriate charges.
In Missouri, a Class C felony charge for first-degree involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
