Man on meth gets 6 years for fatal car wreck in Leavenworth County, prosecutors say
A 23-year-old man from Leavenworth County will spend more than six years in prison after a fatal wreck that killed a 62-year-old woman as he was driving under the influence of methamphetamine, according to prosecutors.
Josiah Coleman was sentenced Thursday in Leavenworth County District Court to spend 77 months incarceration for involuntary manslaughter and meth possession, the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office said.
The crash occurred on Feb. 21 near the intersection of 147th Street and Fairmount Road. Prosecutors say Coleman was traveling more than 90 mph in a 40 mph zone when he blew a stop sign and struck a car driven by Donna Gay Osborne.
Osborne was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 6-month-old grandson, who was in the car, suffered only minor injuries, prosecutors said.
“This was a tragedy. The only blessing was the child was unharmed,” Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said in a statement Thursday. “Drugs harm more than just the person using them, and in this case it has devastated a family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them.”
Investigators found meth and drug paraphernalia in Coleman’s car, prosecutors said.
In 2019, Coleman pleaded guilty to a separate felony charge of aggravated battery that originated from Johnson County from the previous year, court records show. Under the guilty plea, he received a recommended sentence of two years probation.
Leavenworth prosecutors say Coleman faces revocation of that probation and imposition of a prison sentence related to that charge.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 6:46 PM.
