A Lenexa woman with a previous DUI conviction pleaded guilty to being under the influence when she caused a fatal crash.
On Friday in Johnson County District Court, Amy D. Crouch, of Lenexa, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence.
On Jan. 17, Crouch caused a car crash at the intersection of West 89th Terrace and Park Street that killed Tsige G. Mesfin, 48, of Shawnee. She will likely serve 72 months in prison, according to the plea agreement.
Judge Neil B. Foth is the presiding judge.
Crouch caused the crash in January
At about 11:10 p.m. on Jan. 17, Lenexa Police officers responded to the scene of a reported injury crash at the intersection of West 89th Terrace and Park Street, according to a press release by Lenexa Police.
When Lenexa Police arrived, they discovered two vehicles that had come to rest in a nearby yard, a Ford Bronco, driven by Crouch and including a passenger, and a Toyota RAV4.
The driver of the RAV4, Tsige G. Mesfin, 48, of Shawnee was pronounced dead at the scene. The two adult females in the Bronco, including Crouch, were not injured.
Crouch was taken into custody at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence.
This was Crouch’s second DUI offense
The passenger in the Bronco told Lenexa Police that she and Crouch had left Barley’s Bar and were traveling east on 89th Terrace when the crash occurred. The passenger was unable to estimate how fast they were driving, but said they did not stop at the stop sign, according to court documents.
When police spoke with Crouch at the scene of the crash, she told them, she had consumed three drinks that night. Police noted she “smelled the odor of consumed alcohol” and that her “eyes were bloodshot and that she struggled to focus and interact (with police),” according to court documents.
At the crash scene, Crouch agreed to take a field sobriety test, where a breath sample returned as 0.188, over the legal limit of 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. She was then placed under arrest.
Crouch was previously convicted of driving under the influence in the Municipal Court of Olathe in November 2000, according to court documents.
Victim was a Shawnee resident
Mesfin was born in Ethiopia and moved to Shawnee where she became an active member of the Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church, according to her obituary.
“You were a beautiful soul, always smiling and so caring towards those around you,” a person wrote on her obituary page.
In January, she was buried at the Shawnee City Cemetery. A livestream of her funeral is available to be viewed here.
What’s next
Crouch will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 18 in Johnson County District Court.
Other Johnson County Court news: Lenexa man gets ‘Hard 50’ for murdering wife and son
