On Friday, one charge was dropped and another was lessened against a former sheriff’s deputy named Colby McCreary in Jefferson County, in relation to an April accident that resulted in the death of his wife. He was initially charged with a felony for driving under the influence that resulted in death and another felony for involuntary manslaughter back in June. Now, he is facing a misdemeanor for driving under the influence.
It’s alleged that McCreary had a blood-alcohol level of .17%, over twice the legal limit, when he crashed his Jeep on April 30 on Interstate 55 near Manley Quarry Road, causing the death of his 28-year-old wife, Savannah McCreary. There were no other vehicles involved in the incident.
Originally, the crash was investigated by the Festus Police Department, but this was later taken over by the Missouri Highway Patrol. The revisited charges put forward by the prosecutors were influenced by the crash reconstruction report completed by the MHP, said Trisha Stefanski, Jefferson County prosecuting attorney.
The report indicates that neither Savannah nor Colby McCreary were wearing seatbelts, and that Savannah was probably not fully positioned in her seat approximately five seconds before the accident occurred. She reportedly moved partially out of the window as they maneuvered past another vehicle just before the crash. The vehicle slowed down about 12 mph in the second before the crash occurred, which was caused by a sudden turn of the wheel to the right. The car’s shift lever was also pushed out of the drive position just before the impact.
Festus police did not collect McCreary’s blood alcohol content at the accident scene, but state patrol investigators obtained this from the hospital he was sent to. The Festus police chief defended the actions of his department in spite of accusations from the Jefferson County Sheriff. McCreary is no longer employed as a sheriff’s deputy in Jefferson County.
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