With law enforcement citing excessive speed and the presence of narcotics discovered as part of a crash investigation, a West Plains man has been charged by a grand jury with first-degree involuntary manslaughter relating to a fatal crash in May 2023.
Everett N. Moss, 21, was reportedly the driver of a northbound 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe that ran off of BB Highway near Terra Drive on May 20, into a tree, two telephone boxes and a second tree before stopping near a driveway.
Passenger Charlotte Wilson, 30, also of West Plains, was pronounced dead at the scene by Howell County Coroner Tim Cherry.
Moss suffered minor injuries in the crash but his name wasn't released by police at the time, and he was described only as a 20-year-old man.
He was arrested Saturday on a grand jury warrant issued Nov. 29 with a $75,000 bond, and released on bail the same day, according to court records.
West Plains Police Cpl. Wes Stuart, who submitted the findings of his investigation to the grand jury, said he completed a crash reconstruction and determined Moss's vehicle failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the right side of the road and into a ditch.
From there, he said, it drove through a large cedar tree, missing the trunk, then struck a telephone box and a marker pole indicating buried phone lines before striking a large cedar tree, causing "catastrophic" damage to the vehicle, tearing the passenger side away from it and splitting it in half from near the console area to almost the rear quarter panel.
The impact with the tree then caused the vehicle to become airborne and spin 180 degrees before landing upright, opposite the direction it was traveling, Stuart noted, and added that Wilson was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash but suffered severe injuries.
Moss reportedly admitted to speeding, telling Stuart he was driving about 50 to 60 mph, and consented to a blood draw while he was being treated at a hospital. The speed limit at the crash site is 45 mph.
Stuart determined the vehicle was traveling at least 68 mph when it left the road and continued 391 feet before hitting the second tree at about 34 mph, based on the passenger side mirror that was found embedded in a wrought iron fence about 78.5 feet away from the tree that split the SUV.
Stuart also obtained information from Wilson's Life360 app that showed the vehicle's top speed at the time of the crash was 98 mph.
Life360 is a cell phone application advertised as a safety app that tracks the location of the user and includes features such as crash detection and collects data including vehicle speed in order to generate a report of driver habits.
Toxicology results from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab reportedly showed the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine and Zolpidem in Moss's blood at the time of the crash. Stuart explained Zolpidem is the brand name of a prescription sleep aid that is also marketed under other names including Ambien, and that the presence of the drugs could be contributing factors in the crash as they have been proven to cause impairment and decrease the ability to safely operate a vehicle.
Court records show at the time of the crash Moss was facing traffic charges filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and, about two weeks before the crash, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of speeding by 20 to 25 mph over the limit, filed by the patrol in July 2021, with an attached fine of $311.50.
About a month after the crash, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and exceeding the speed limit by 26 mph or more, filed in April 2022, and paid a total of $700 in fines.
Moss is to make a bond appearance on Monday before 37th Judicial District Presiding Judge Steven Privette and has yet to secure an attorney, according to court records. The case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings and Assistant Prosecutor Rizwan Ahad.
