Mission Hills attorney pleads guilty in DWI crash that killed Lee’s Summit man
Mission Hills attorney Peter E. Goss has pleaded guilty to driving drunk and causing a wrong-way crash that killed a 65-year-old Lee’s Summit man, according to court documents.
The 47-year-old Goss pleaded guilty Monday in Johnson County Circuit Court in Missouri to one count of driving while intoxicated and causing the death of Kevin Ray Wilson.
Circuit Judge Stacey Lett accepted Goss’ plea and set sentencing for 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 24.
J.R. Hobbs, the attorney for Goss, confirmed that his client entered the plea. Hobbs said Goss accepts responsibility and “very much regrets” his conduct and how it affected the lives of Wilson and his family. Hobbs declined to comment further.
According to a court document, prosecutors and Hobbs will recommend a five-year prison term, but ask that the judge recommend Goss for a Missouri Department of Corrections’ 120-day treatment program. If the DOC accepts him and he completes the program, the judge could release him on probation for the remainder of his sentence.
At sentencing, the remaining counts — a felony charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of driving the wrong way on a divided highway that resulted in a crash — will also be dismissed, according to the court document.
The document said Goss has also engaged counsel regarding his law license and is preparing to petition to surrender it.
Wilson was killed shortly before 11 p.m. Sept. 20, 2024, in a crash along eastbound U.S. 50 near Missouri Route Z, east of Lone Jack in rural Johnson County, Missouri.
Court documents state that Goss was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban west in the eastbound lanes when he crashed head-on into a 2023 Subaru Legacy driven by Wilson. Wilson died at the scene, and Goss was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
“To be clear, Mr. Goss admits that he had consumed several drinks prior to operating his vehicle, and he does not contest that he drove in the wrong lane for several miles and was driving while under the influence of alcohol,” Hobbs wrote in a defendant’s sentencing memorandum.
In December 2024, Wilson’s son and daughter filed a petition in Johnson County Circuit Court seeking approval of a wrongful death settlement against Goss. Court documents show that Goss’ insurer agreed to settle the claim for $2.25 million, a portion of which covered their attorney fees.
