Shawnee County DA charges woman with manslaughter after 2023 crash
Oct 15, 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A woman is now in jail facing nine criminal counts, including manslaughter after a car vs. motorcycle crash in Topeka in 2023.
Katie Garceran, public information officer for the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office, shared in a news release that on Thursday, Oct. 10, it charged 37-year-old Shana Leigh Estes with the following after a car vs. motorcycle crash:
Involuntary manslaughter-DUI.
Murder in the second degree; reckless.
DUI-first offense.
Possession of Hallucinogenic drug other than marijuana or THC; first offense.
Failure to maintain a single lane.
Driving while suspended-first offense.
Speeding.
Theft-less than $1,500.
Theft-less than $1,500.
Garceran said that on Dec. 20, 2023, Topeka police, the Topeka Fire Department and AMR responded to a report of a car vs. motorcycle crash at the intersection of Southwest 29th Street and Southwest Fairway Drive. The driver of one of the vehicles, 29-year-old Joshua Paul Harmer, was found by officers and taken to Stormont Vail Hospital by AMR. He later died on Dec. 22, 2023.
On Oct. 10, 2024, Estes was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on bench warrants. Afte additional evidence was received, the Shawnee County Department of Corrections filed charges and the court issued an additional warrant for the nine counts listed above.
"The Topeka Police Department is handling the investigation into this matter. Anyone with information related to these or similar crimes should report that information to law enforcement immediately. The charges are allegations of criminal conduct only. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."
Statement excerpt from the news release
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