Independence man charged for intentionally striking, killing Liberty woman with vehicle
LIBERTY, Mo. — Clay County prosecutors charge a 28-year-old Independence, Missouri man accused of deliberately striking and killing a Liberty woman with his vehicle.
Zackary Young is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
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Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, Liberty police officers responded to investigate a traffic incident involving a vehicle and a woman near the intersection of La Frenz and Ruth Ewing roads.
Investigation revealed that the driver of a Dodge Ram pick-up was going south on La Frenz Road and struck the victim on the northbound side of the road.
Court documents say the victim was outside of her vehicle, which had a flat tire, at the time of the crash.
The victim, identified as 20-year-old Savanna Churchill, died at the scene.
The driver of the Ram, identified as Young, walked away from the scene and was taken into custody several blocks away. When asked if he had observed a crash where he was coming from and if he was involved, he paused and stated, “Yea, it was me,” court documents say.
Investigators say Young intentionally struck Churchill with his vehicle, and also established that Young and Churchill did not know each other.
Court records say during his arrest, a Liberty police officer noticed Young’s speech to be slow and slurred. When asked about the crash, he responded with a long pause, then said, “I’m in debt.”
When asked if he had “taken anything or drank any alcohol,” Young responded by shaking his head up and down repeatedly.
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According to court documents, when police asked Young if he knew why he did it, he stated, “Because I’ve been running my whole life. Umm, I guess I thought I was running from the government, but I guess I was running from myself.”
Young is being held on a Clay County warrant with a $1,000,000 bond.
