By Laura Shay
Cameron Kopecky, 19, pleaded guilty to charges including
involuntary manslaughter for a 2013 crash that killed one woman and
injured several people.
WARREN COUNTY, Mo.
(KMOV.com) -
A 19-year-old Warren County man confessed to "hill jumping" in his pick-up truck, which caused a three-vehicle crash that killed one woman and injured others in July 2013.
Cameron Kopecky of unincorporated Warren County pleaded guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle carelessly. He was 17 years old at the time of the accident.
Two vehicles were stopped on the side of the road with their hazard lights on to assist a vehicle in a ditch when Kopecky came over the hill at more than 75 miles per hour, causing a one of the stopped vehicles to hit the other, according to Missouri Highway Patrol.
Kopecky's Dodge Ram also hit 32-year-old Jennifer Graves, who was seriously injured and airlifted from the scene of the crash, along with Deborah Hughes, 58, who died from her injuries.
The crash occurred on Township Line Road west of Highway 47 in Warren County.
Graves filed a civil lawsuit against Kopecky and the passengers of his truck, seeking damages of more than $100,000.
In the lawsuit, Kopecky's passengers are accused of encouraging Kopecky to speed in order to go airborne while driving over hills, also known as "hill jumping." Two of Kopecky's passengers were injured.
Kopecky could be sentenced to up to four years in prison and a fine of $5,000 for the felony charge and up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor charge.
The sentencing will take place on September 1.
A 19-year-old Warren County man confessed to "hill jumping" in his pick-up truck, which caused a three-vehicle crash that killed one woman and injured others in July 2013.
Cameron Kopecky of unincorporated Warren County pleaded guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle carelessly. He was 17 years old at the time of the accident.
Two vehicles were stopped on the side of the road with their hazard lights on to assist a vehicle in a ditch when Kopecky came over the hill at more than 75 miles per hour, causing a one of the stopped vehicles to hit the other, according to Missouri Highway Patrol.
Kopecky's Dodge Ram also hit 32-year-old Jennifer Graves, who was seriously injured and airlifted from the scene of the crash, along with Deborah Hughes, 58, who died from her injuries.
The crash occurred on Township Line Road west of Highway 47 in Warren County.
Graves filed a civil lawsuit against Kopecky and the passengers of his truck, seeking damages of more than $100,000.
In the lawsuit, Kopecky's passengers are accused of encouraging Kopecky to speed in order to go airborne while driving over hills, also known as "hill jumping." Two of Kopecky's passengers were injured.
Kopecky could be sentenced to up to four years in prison and a fine of $5,000 for the felony charge and up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor charge.
The sentencing will take place on September 1.