KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Smithville woman who allegedly drove off the road while drunk, killing her young daughter June 24 in Platte County, has been charged with a Class B felony.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd filed amended charges Thursday, one day after the 5-year-old girl died.
Samantha Jones, 31, is alleged to have operated a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.198 “and acted with criminal negligence” in the crash that killed the 5-year-old girl, according to charging documents.
She faces one count of driving while intoxicated with a BAC greater than or equal to .18 and the death of a person and could face five to 15 years in jail.
According to a probable cause statement from the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, Jones allegedly wrecked a gray Kia Optima into an electrical pole on the north side of the road shortly before 10 p.m. near the intersection of Missouri E Highway and Skinner Lake Road.
The vehicle, which had been traveling eastbound, had extensive damage, much of it on the rear passenger side.
Jones told officers she wasn’t sure how fast she was driving and admitted to drinking two bottles of wine before getting behind the wheel, according to the probable cause statement.
A passerby who stopped at the scene told officers she heard Jones screaming “Help! Help! My baby,” and found the child limp in the vehicle.
Jones’s daughter was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital to receive treatment for injuries sustained in the crash. She died Wednesday from those injuries.
According to the probable cause statement, Jones told the witness, “I never drink this much. I’m so stupid. My baby is my world. I don’t care if I go to jail. I just want my baby to be OK.”
Jones consented to a breathalyzer and, during questioning at the scene, said she’d started drinking at approximately 5 p.m. and consumed 1 1/2 to two bottles of wine.
She was transported to the Platte County Detention Facility, where she tested at a .186 BAC on the jail’s Intox DMT machine — a test that is admissible in court.
Jones, who was initially charged Monday, was being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond, which was amended Tuesday to a 10-percent cash option. She posted the bond and was released with the condition she only was allowed to leave home for work, hospital and doctor’s appointments.
After the child died, the bond conditions were amended to allow Jones to leave her house for the purposes of funeral arrangements.
Jones is due back in court July 10 for a hearing.
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