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Jackson County prosecutors allege a 19-year-old Blue Springs man was drunk when he caused a traffic crash that killed Laura Reynolds on Saturday night.
Kenneth Scott Blake II has been charged with one count of felony involuntary manslaughter. He is being held on $75,000 bond.
Reynolds was a junior at Fort Osage High School.
Court records give the following account of the two-vehicle crash.
At 11:43 p.m. Saturday, Independence police responded to the accident at U.S. 24 and Blue Mills Road.
The investigation showed that Blake, driving a silver 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, turned left from northbound Blue Mills Road. He was driving west in the eastbound lanes on U.S. 24.
The second car, a green 1995 Dodge Neon, was going east on the highway.
The Malibu collided head-on with the Neon.
Inside the Neon were three teenagers. A 17-year-old girl, the driver; a 15-year-old passenger in the back seat; and Laura Reynolds, a 16-year-old, the front-seat passenger.
Reynolds died in the collision. The two other girls suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Two witnesses reported that Blake turned into the eastbound lane and sped up to 55 to 60 mph and that the Neon car could not avoid the collision.
One of the witnesses rushed to the Neon. A passenger and the driver were screaming to get out of the vehicle.
The witness checked on Blake, who he said smelled of alcohol. Blake tried to start the car and leave. A witness held onto the driver’s door so Blake could not get out. Blake began banging on the window.
Another witness told authorities that Blake yelled “Let me out. I didn’t do it.”
Blake was taken to Centerpoint Medical Center.
Investigators noted Blake was wearing a T-shirt with the band name “Pantera” on it. He wore black and white face paint that resembled the character “Otis” from Rob Zombie’s “House of 1,000 Corpses” movie.
Blake told officers he had been drinking Malibu Lou’s 151 and pineapple juice. He swayed while standing and had slurred speech. His eyes were bloodshot and watery.
Blake allowed authorities check his blood alcohol level. But he denied any fault in the accident. According to the police report, Blake’s blood alcohol concentration was projected to be .239 percent at the time of the wreck. The legal limit in Missouri is .08 percent.
Police interviewed Blake, who waived his Miranda rights.
He told police he was at a party in Raytown. He was sober when he arrived. He drove to the party by himself. He had a total of two and one-half glasses, apparently of Malibu and Coke and pineapple juice.
He left the party sometime between 9:30 to 10 p.m. Blake was going home to Blue Springs, but he got lost on the way. He ended up, Blake told cops, on a road with the word “Blue” in it.
Jackson County prosecutors allege a 19-year-old Blue Springs man was drunk when he caused a traffic crash that killed Laura Reynolds on Saturday night.
Kenneth Scott Blake II has been charged with one count of felony involuntary manslaughter. He is being held on $75,000 bond.
Reynolds was a junior at Fort Osage High School.
Court records give the following account of the two-vehicle crash.
At 11:43 p.m. Saturday, Independence police responded to the accident at U.S. 24 and Blue Mills Road.
The investigation showed that Blake, driving a silver 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, turned left from northbound Blue Mills Road. He was driving west in the eastbound lanes on U.S. 24.
The second car, a green 1995 Dodge Neon, was going east on the highway.
The Malibu collided head-on with the Neon.
Inside the Neon were three teenagers. A 17-year-old girl, the driver; a 15-year-old passenger in the back seat; and Laura Reynolds, a 16-year-old, the front-seat passenger.
Reynolds died in the collision. The two other girls suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Two witnesses reported that Blake turned into the eastbound lane and sped up to 55 to 60 mph and that the Neon car could not avoid the collision.
One of the witnesses rushed to the Neon. A passenger and the driver were screaming to get out of the vehicle.
The witness checked on Blake, who he said smelled of alcohol. Blake tried to start the car and leave. A witness held onto the driver’s door so Blake could not get out. Blake began banging on the window.
Another witness told authorities that Blake yelled “Let me out. I didn’t do it.”
Blake was taken to Centerpoint Medical Center.
Investigators noted Blake was wearing a T-shirt with the band name “Pantera” on it. He wore black and white face paint that resembled the character “Otis” from Rob Zombie’s “House of 1,000 Corpses” movie.
Blake told officers he had been drinking Malibu Lou’s 151 and pineapple juice. He swayed while standing and had slurred speech. His eyes were bloodshot and watery.
Blake allowed authorities check his blood alcohol level. But he denied any fault in the accident. According to the police report, Blake’s blood alcohol concentration was projected to be .239 percent at the time of the wreck. The legal limit in Missouri is .08 percent.
Police interviewed Blake, who waived his Miranda rights.
He told police he was at a party in Raytown. He was sober when he arrived. He drove to the party by himself. He had a total of two and one-half glasses, apparently of Malibu and Coke and pineapple juice.
He left the party sometime between 9:30 to 10 p.m. Blake was going home to Blue Springs, but he got lost on the way. He ended up, Blake told cops, on a road with the word “Blue” in it.
