Manslaughter charge in alleged phone-distraction death
A man who said he ran a stop sign while his phone was ringing was charged Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a woman whose car collided with his tractor trailer.
Phillip E. Nordmeyer, 29, of Glasgow, Mo., was charged in Jackson County in the death of 29-year-old Amanda H. Heath-Claxon of Oak Grove. The incident occurred Dec. 1 at Missouri routes H and FF. According to court records, Nordmeyer told a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper his phone was ringing and he ran a stop sign. He said he never saw the passenger car but when he felt the impact of the collision he stopped and saw it underneath the trailer.
A civil wrongful-death lawsuit also is pending against Nordmeyer and his employer.
| Matt Campbell, mcampbell@kcstar.com
This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Manslaughter charge in alleged phone-distraction death."