A northwest Missouri teenager is in jail after the Highway Patrol accused him of drunk driving contributing to an accident that has claimed the life of another teen. The crash occurred at 11:40 Sunday night just north of the community of DeKalb in rural Buchanan County.
The highway patrol identified the deceased as 18-year-old Cassandra Donaldson of Faucett, Missouri. She had been taken by ambulance to Mosiac Life Care Hospital in St. Joseph where she was pronounced dead at 2:20 this morning.
The crash also resulted in minor injuries for the driver of the vehicle, 18-year-old Wyatt Gardner of Rushville, who was taken by a state trooper to Mosiac for treatment of minor injuries. No injury was noted for another passenger listed as a 15-year-old juvenile boy from Faucett. None of the three occupants was using a seat belt according to the crash report released Monday morning.
Troopers, including one from a crash investigative team, reported a pickup driven by Gardner was northbound when he attempted to make a right turn onto old North Road but lost control. The pickup went off the south side of the road, down a steep embankment, where it came to a stop upside door in a creek. The three quarter ton pickup was demolished.
The highway patrol arrest report shows Wyatt Gardner has been accused of felony driving while intoxicated resulting in the death of another. Gardner was taken on a 24-hour hold to the Buchanan County Jail.
