Victim’s family angered as man pleads not guilty in deadly Independence DWI crash
A man facing DWI and assault charges in a December crash in Independence that killed a Kansas City woman pled not guilty at his first court appearance Monday.
In a Jackson County courtroom, Mason McIntyre, 20, appeared Monday clad in an orange prison jumpsuit with chained wrists and ankles, his left hand wrapped with white gauze, as his attorney entered his plea. McIntyre faces one count of DWI death and two counts of second-degree assault.
McIntyre’s family members and loved ones of the victims were in attendance at the hearing.
McIntyre has also filed a motion to lower his $100,000 cash bond to $25,000, according to court records. A bond review is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m.
The DWI count carries up to 15 years in prison, according to prosecutors. The two counts of second-degree assault carry up to seven years in prison each, if convicted.
On Dec. 27, the day of the crash, Independence police officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Kentucky Road and Missouri 291 just before 9:20 p.m. and found McIntyre as the sole occupant of a white 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, trapped behind the wheel, according to court records.
He had to be cut out of the vehicle by firefighters and transported to a local hospital. Officers found a beer bottle in the center console of his vehicle.
McIntyre’s blood alcohol level was a .186 two hours after the crash, according to court records, more than twice the legal limit.
Detectives determined that the Silverado was travelling at a high rate of speed, ran a red light and struck the passenger side of a maroon 2010 Ford Ranger, court records say. The Ranger was northbound on MO-291 with a green light.
The crash injured all three passengers, killing one of them, a Kansas City woman identified as Jennifer Jensen, 36, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other occupants of the vehicle, including a juvenile victim, were transported to area hospitals.
Family members told The Star Jensen’s daughter and partner were the other people injured in the crash. Jensen’s father, David Jensen, was enraged by McIntyre’s not guilty plea.
“It was everything I could do not to come out of the chair. I wanted to go after him,” Jensen told reporters after the hearing. “[Jennifer] was an angel... she never met a person that didn’t get along with her.”
The Star’s Noelle Alviz-Gransee and Laura Bauer contributed reporting.
