Independence man is sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatal crash

A Jackson County judge has sentenced a 26-year-old Independence man to 20 years in prison for causing a fatal crash minutes after he fled from police.

A jury had found Drew M. Ryland guilty of second-degree murder in March in the September 2014 crash near 31st Street and Grand Avenue.

Michael Hernandez, 28, of Kansas City, died Oct. 8, 2014, of injuries suffered in the crash. The murder charge was based on his death being the result of Ryland fleeing from police.

Police tried to pull over a white SUV that was speeding north on Southwest Trafficway about 1 a.m. Sept. 20, 2014. Police stopped their pursuit after Ryland ran red lights and crossed over into oncoming lanes of traffic to pass other vehicles.

About two blocks from where police ended the pursuit, the SUV crashed head-on into a Dodge Charger containing Hernandez.

Ryland’s blood alcohol level was found to be 0.145 when he was tested at a hospital after police obtained a search warrant. The legal blood alcohol limit in Missouri is 0.08. Two passengers in the SUV said they had just left Westport before the crash.

The jury also convicted Ryland of resisting arrest, five counts of armed criminal action and three counts of second-degree assault. A judge sentenced him on those counts too, but all the sentences are to run concurrently.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Independence man is sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatal crash."