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KCMO woman charged with killing pedestrian while drag racing

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Posted at 10:28 PM, Nov 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-10 23:28:46-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A woman who was drunk and drag racing earlier this year has been charged with killing a woman who was trying cross a Kansas City, Missouri, street.

Shabazz L. Frencher, 22, of Kansas City, Missouri, is charged in Jackson County Court with DWI - death of another not a passenger or in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter.

Frencher also is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and driving while revoked/suspended.

The high-speed crash happened about 2:20 a.m. in June at East 43rd and Main streets.

A court document states the victim, Zahara Kathawalla, 23, was crossing Main Street from west to east when the vehicle hit her.

A witness with Kathawalla told officers there was no traffic on Main Street as Kathawalla and he walked into the street, according to a court document.

The man said he heard the sounds of engines revving and two vehicles racing toward them. Kathawalla tried to run, but she was hit by a car.

The court documents also state that a nearby surveillance camera captured the wreck and Frencher fleeing in the car.

Officers found the heavily damaged 2018 black Ford Focus on June 21, abandoned at Huntington Road and Central Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

Frencher walked into a police facility that same day and told officers she was the driver in the fatal hit-and-run crash at East 43rd and Main streets. She told investigators she went to Westport, got drunk and drove a Ford Focus that did not belong to her.

Police calculated the car was going 67 miles per hour when it hit and killed Kathawalla.

Prosecutors asked for Frencher's bond to be set at $50,000.

Kathawalla worked at Cargill at the time of her death.

For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the 41 Action News Mug Shot Policy.