Johnson County prosecutors charge man with felony murder, DUI in fatal Merriam crash
A Grain Valley man is accused of felony murder, eluding police and driving under the influence in a Johnson County crash that left a 19-year-old fatally injured Thursday.
Johnson County prosecutors charged the alleged drunk driver, Uconn Coleman, 24, with three felonies and two misdemeanors. He was being held in the county jail on a $500,000 bond.
The crash happened around 1:35 a.m. Thursday. In a statement, the Merriam Police Department said an officer tried to pull over a vehicle that was being driven at high speed in the 5500 block of Antioch Road.
Police said a pursuit was not initiated. But seconds later, police said, the same vehicle crashed into a Honda Accord stopped at Antioch and Shawnee Mission Parkway.
The driver of the Honda, 19-year-old Benjamin Kleczka, was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. He later died, according to prosecutors.
Reached by phone, Carl Cornwell, a defense attorney representing Coleman, said he first spoke with his client Friday after being assigned to the case. During that meeting, Cornwell said, Coleman sobbed after coming to realize that a person had died the crash.
“It was very emotional,” Cornwell said, adding that Coleman was “very remorseful.”
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct the spelling of the victim’s last name.
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 6:09 PM.
