Accused wrong-way driver to stand trial in fatality crash

By Cameron Montemayor

A St. Joseph woman accused of fatally hitting a motorcyclist in a wrong-way crash in May will go to trial on a charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

Katherine Deweese, 47, appeared in court Friday afternoon in front of Circuit Court Judge Dan Kellogg, who set her case for trial at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. The defense has requested a bench trial in the case, which is likely to take place over one to two days.

Deweese was charged in August with first-degree involuntary manslaughter — a Class C felony — in connection with the wrong-way crash that killed 33-year-old St. Joseph motorcyclist Ryan Coffman on the morning of May 17, 2024.

Deweese is accused of driving the wrong way up the Interstate 229 6A exit ramp that leads Downtown onto Edmond and South Third streets, crashing head-on with Coffman around 5 a.m. Coffman, who was heading Downtown for work, was ejected from his motorcycle and transported to Mosaic Life Care where he was later pronounced dead as a result of blunt force trauma.

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.

According to a probable cause statement from St. Joseph police, authorities detected an odor of an intoxicant coming from Deweese at the scene and a preliminary breath sample showed her blood alcohol was at 0.065%. Deweese — who was not arrested after the crash — also admitted she was distracted because she had been arguing with a passenger.

Deweese initially refused to consent to a blood draw at the Law Enforcement Center, forcing authorities to get a search warrant to draw blood later that morning at 7:36 a.m. A toxicology report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab showed Deweese’s reporting limit of ethanol was 0.010%.

Deweese was released on her own recognizance after pleading not guilty to the charge. Given the amount of public interest in the case, the trial is likely to be moved to a larger courtroom.