By The Examiner staff
In an unexplained reversal, a former Kansas City Chiefs player has now been charged in a June car crash that left a Grain Valley woman dead.
Rich Baldinger, who lives in Blue Springs, was charged in the 16th Judicial Circuit Court Monday with operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, involving an accident. The misdemeanor charge carries a punishment range from one day to one year in the Jackson County Jail or a fine of up to $5,000.
Baldinger was northbound on Bowlin Road about 2:15 p.m., June 27, when he reportedly struck a Saturn driven by Jerry Walters, 60, of Grain Valley, who was eastbound on U.S. 40.
The passenger, Marilyn L. Walters, 61, later died from her injuries.
Baldinger and another passenger, Christina Hainley, 29, of Pleasant Hill, both were treated with minor injuries and released.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office originally told The Examiner and other media last week that no charges were going to be filed and that the collision was an “accident.”
The Prosecutor’s Office would not return phone calls to explain the change, but other published accounts reported that the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office saying it was a “misunderstanding.”
Baldinger, an offensive lineman, played in the NFL from 1982 through 1993. He spent most of his career with Kansas City, starting 92 games for the Chiefs. Baldinger has also worked as a television football commentator.
