Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
June 25, 2014

Submitted photo.
Submitted photo.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A Kansas City woman has been charged in connection with a June 7, 2014, traffic collision that resulted in the death of an unborn child as well as injuries to the mother.

In a press release, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Chelsea C. Summer, 24, of Kansas City, Mo., has been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, a class B felony; second-degree assault, a class C felony; and driving while revoked, a misdemeanor.

According to court records, police responded to a head-on collision on the Heart of America Bridge late on June 7, 2014. Both the defendant and a pregnant 21-year-old victim were taken to hospitals for their injuries. At the hospital, officers detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Summer, as well as slurred speech. The officer also learned Summer had been combative with the medical staff.

Multiple witnesses told police that a truck driven by Summer was speeding and headed northbound in the southbound lane of the bridge when it was involved in a head-on collision with the victim’s vehicle. Preliminary information from the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that the victim’s injuries sustained in the collision with the defendant caused the death of her unborn child. Prosecutors have requested bond be placed at $150,000.

“Our thoughts are for the victim, for her recovery and for her loss,” Baker said.