JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — The mother of a woman killed in a deadly crash last April is now speaking out after the original felony charges for the driver were reduced to a misdemeanor.
Krista Kalpakoff's son-in-law Colby McCreary, a former Jefferson County deputy was driving April 30 on Interstate 55 when he went off the road over a ditch and hit a small rock bluff. McCreary and his wife in the passenger seat, Savannah McCreary, were both ejected.
"It's been a nightmare," Kalpakoff said about losing her daughter in the crash, adding Savannah was her "best friend."
Kalpakoff said that the crash happened after Colby and Savannah's son birthday party. Driving down I-55, the car veered and overturned. Both of the McCrearys were ejected, and Savannah's lower body was exposed, according to a prosecutor's statement.
The couple was transported to Mercy South in south St. Louis County.
Savannah died the next day from her injuries.
The Highway Patrol investigation found Colby had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 when his blood was drawn while being treated at the hospital. That's more than twice the legal limit.
"The McCrearys have had absolutely zero contact with me from the get-go," Kalpakoff said. "They never called me the night of the accident. My daughter and I found out on Facebook. We called over 11 hospitals before we found out which one she was in."
Originally facing charges of DWI resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter, Jefferson County prosecutors said on Jan. 5 they couldn't charge Colby because they can't prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Being a police officer you should have known better," Kalpakoff said. "Your blood alcohol level was 0.17 of which they didn't even take. They should have taken it at the scene of the accident. It was not. It was not done until they reached the hospital."
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney's office also said in their statement the husband and wife weren't wearing seatbelts.
The crash reconstruction report incorporates evidence obtained from the scene, from witnesses, and from the vehicle, including the event data recorder inside the vehicle. That report included several findings such as the vehicle was traveling at 86 miles per hour prior to the crash. Then, 1.8 seconds before impact, prosecutors said "the wheel was abruptly turned in a clockwise direction." This caused the vehicle to veer to the right. It's still unclear as to why.
Festus officers on the scene said Colby showed no signs of impairment.
"Initially, they're trying to see whether they smell alcohol," Travis Noble, McCreary's lawyer, said in response to the prosecutor's statement. "You're on the side of the road. You've got tractor trailers, things going by. It's hard to gauge that. There wasn't the typical circumstance where you had open liquor containers, bottles or beer cans in the vehicle."
Savannah left behind two children.
"It's destroyed me," Kalpakoff said. "It's destroyed my family. I worry about my two grandkids growing up without a mother. That's got to be difficult."
Kalpakoff said she is planning on being at Colby's preliminary hearing next week with the reduced charges.
"I'd like Colby to have to face me at some point and at least tell me he's sorry or something," Kalpakoff said. "I am her mother. She didn't just appear on this earth and become yours. She was ours for a long time."
The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday in Jefferson County.
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