Smithville woman sentenced to 9 years in DWI crash that killed her daughter

A Smithville woman is sentenced to nine years in prison for a for a drunk driving crash that killed her young daughter.

Samantha Jones was sentenced Friday in Platte County court after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated, a Class B felony.

The crash happened Sunday, June 24, 2018 just before 10 p.m. near E Highway and Skinner Lake Road in Platte County, Mo.

Court documents say when police arrived at the scene of the crash, they found Jones’ gray KIA Optima with extensive damage in a ditch on the north side of the road. Jones told first responders she wasn’t sure how fast she was going, but she remembered losing control then hitting an electrical pole.

“I never drink this much,” Jones said after the crash, according to court documents. “I’m so stupid. My baby is my world. I don’t care if I go to jail, I just want my baby to be okay.”

Macklyn Lucas was taken to the hospital, but died of her injuries.

Jones told investigators that she had been drinking wine and sitting on the porch while the kids were playing. She estimated that between 5 p.m. when she started drinking at 8:30 p.m. when she stopped drinking that she drank one and a half to two bottles of wine.

Jones’ blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit when police tested her after the crash.

“This defendant owed her highest duty of care to her five-year-old daughter, Macklyn Lucas. But instead of protecting her, the defendant made the decision to drive with a blood alcohol content more the twice the legal limit. It’s not a mitigating circumstance when a mother kills her own child by driving drunk; It’s an aggravating factor when a defendant places her own child in harm’s way,” said Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd.

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