Blue Springs, MO : Driver charged in fatal wreck in Blue Springs on Wednesday, 3rd July 2019

The wrong-way driver accused in a fatal wreck on Interstate 70 in Blue Springs last week faces a felony charge.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Desiree C. Smith, 37, of Blue Springs, with DWI resulting in death. Heather Blackman, 44, a Blue Springs mother of five, died in the June 24 collision, and Blackman’s daughter, 18-year-old Chloe Atkinson, was injured.

The crash happened about 9:24 p.m. in the eastbound lanes between Missouri 7 and Adams Dairy Parkway. According to court documents, a Missouri state trooper arrived at the scene and found Smith in her vehicle, a 2011 Cadillac CTS, with her legs pinned, receiving medical attention. Blackman’s vehicle, 2003 Ford Taurus, was off the right side of the road, and Blackman was dead.

Three witnesses told the officer they passed a vehicle driving west in the eastbound lanes. One driver in the inside lane said Smith passed him in the outer lane and he heard the crash. The other two witnesses had been able swerve to the shoulder to avoid Smith and either saw the crash in the rear-view or looked back immediately after the crash.

The officer discovered a “partially consumed bottle of liquor” in the front passenger seat of Smith’s car and went to the hospital to interview her.

According to court documents, Smith was unresponsive to questions and moaned because of pain, and the officer smelled “an odor of an intoxicating beverage.” The officer arrested Smith, received a search warrant to draw blood samples from Smith and released her for treatment.

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