Charges pending in January wreck
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Charges remain pending in an early-January crash that killed a 21-year-old Coffeyville woman.
Ashley Dawn Rolls, a passenger in one of the two vehicles involved, was thrown from the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident happened shortly after midnight on Jan. 3, between BETO Junction and New Strawn on U.S. Highway 75 in Coffey County.
Coffey County Attorney Doug Witteman said Tuesday afternoon that he expects a decision on charges to be made soon.
“For some reason, there’s been a delay in finishing the autopsy report and that’s what I’m waiting for,” Witteman said.
The autopsy report is an essential factor in a case involving death, he said.
Witteman recently contacted the coroner’s office to inquire about the status of the autopsy report, and expects to receive it soon.
The driver of the second vehicle, Eldon W. Riley, 50, of Garnett, was driving east on County Road 22 and apparently failed to stop at a stop sign. The truck struck Lindsay Ann Shaw’s vehicle on the passenger side.
KHP Trooper Jeff Norling, who initially worked the accident, said in an earlier report that the crash “caused the Pontiac to be cut in two, actually breaking Rolls’ seat belt and causing her ejection.”
The driver of the Pontiac, Shaw, 23, of Manhattan, was taken to the hospital and later transferred to a Topeka hospital.
Riley and a passenger in his truck, Teresa L. Gretencord, 46, of Gardner, were taken to Coffey County Hospital for treatment.