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A father says he can forgive the drunk driver who killed his daughter in a December crash while he struggles to cope with the devastating loss.
David Jensen's 36-year-old daughter, Jennifer Jensen, died on Dec. 27 when investigators say Mason McIntyre ran a red light while driving drunk on Missouri Highway 291 at Kentucky Road.
"I see it on the news all the time, but I never think, 'It's my family,'" Jensen said. "It's all a blur."
Lab results showed McIntyre's blood alcohol level was .186 two hours after the crash — more than twice Missouri's legal limit of .08. He faces charges of DWI (death of another not a passenger) and two counts of second-degree assault.
Jennifer was in a car with her fiancé, Samuel Wynn, and her 12-year-old daughter, Emery, when the crash occurred. Wynn suffered extensive injuries.
Emery suffered a lacerated liver, bruised lungs and a cut above her left eye. She has since been released from the hospital.
Samuel's mother, Cheryl Horne, described the severity of her son's injuries.
"He has two broken femurs, broken hand, broken ankle, cracked, broken ribs, cracked pelvis," Horne said. "He's broke everywhere. I've seen the car, and I don't know how anybody survived that."
Horne said Samuel and Jennifer had been planning their future together.
"He loved her so much," Horne said. "You know, they were engaged and planned to be married and have kids."
In McIntyre's first court appearance Monday, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. He had a scar on his face and an arm wrapped.
Family members of McIntyre and Jennifer filled the courtroom on Monday. Tensions were high as the families filed out of the room.
McIntyre's attorney, Mark Forest, waived the formal reading of the charges.
Forest filed a motion to reduce McIntyre's bond from a cash-only bond of $100,000 to a bond of $25,000, with 10% secured.
Forest called the current bond amount "unusual" and "meant clearly to punish the defendant."
The motion states GPS electronic monitoring could be part of McIntyre's bond conditions. Forest described the incident as a "tragic accident."
A bond review hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. in the Jackson County Courthouse in Independence.
Despite the pain, Jensen says he's working toward forgiveness.
"I'll never forget what he's done to our family," Jensen said. "But yes, I can forgive him. The Bible tells me to forgive."
As the family grieves, Jensen is focused on preserving Jennifer's memory for her daughter.
"Everybody who knew Jenny gravitated toward her," Jensen said. "I'll tell her how special her mama was, which she already knows. I'll tell her everything I can about her mom."
Jensen finds comfort in small reminders of his daughter, including a pair of shoes she bought him for his birthday.
“I’ve never worn them until today," he said. "That's how much she meant to me ... that I wouldn't even wear the shoes."
Horne said Samuel faces a long recovery.
"The only thing I can think about is how long it's going to take for him to be able to just walk across the room," she said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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