KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 18-year-old Riverside teen was charged Friday with second-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with a March crash that killed 18-year-old Tessa Walker.
First responders were called around 4:20 a.m. on March 22 on reports that a BMW M4 sports sedan had crashed on 45 highway near North Main Street in Farley, Missouri.
When police arrived, they found the BMW on fire on the side of the road.
The driver of the car, later identified as 18-year-old Om Patel, approached police. According to court documents, Patel admitted to coming from a party where he consumed alcohol before getting into a crash that killed Walker.
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A Platte County Sheriff’s deputy noticed the smell of alcohol on Patel’s breath and asked him to take a preliminary breath test, which Patel agreed to. The results later revealed a BAC of .047.
As deputies arrested Patel, firefighters recovered Walker’s body in the back seat of the car. Another passenger in the back seat was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Crash investigators used scuff marks on the roadway to estimate that Patel was going nearly 103 mph in the moments before the crash.
Investigators eventually located the scene of the party that the teens had come from as being on Grass Pad Road in unincorporated Platte County.
Evidence recovered following a search warrant revealed alcohol consumption at the location, which had been rented out for a different 18-year-old’s birthday party.
Prosecutors have requested that Patel be held on a $25,000 bond.
A court date has not yet been set.
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