Involuntary manslaughter charge filed in Sedgwick County deputy’s October crash death

A 29-year-old Arizona man is facing criminal charges in the death of a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputy in a crash last fall less than a week after the deputy had gone on patrol by herself.

Deputy Sidnee Carter, 22, died on Oct. 7 after her patrol car was hit by a Jeep Grand Cherokee around 9:30 p.m. at 135th West and 29th North while she was heading to a disturbance call. Carter, a Bel Aire resident who joined the Sheriff’s Office as a jail deputy in September 2020 and graduated from the academy in July 2022, died at the crash scene from what a coroner determined were multiple blunt force injuries, according to her autopsy report. She had been on patrol alone for six days at the time.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter has said the driver of the Jeep, Kelvin Burgett, failed to stop at a stop sign posted on 29th Street and hit Carter’s patrol car on the driver’s side, causing her death and serious injuries to himself.

Burgett, a Prescott Valley, Arizona resident, was formally charged Tuesday morning with two crimes at his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court: involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving while suspended. Court records that give more details about exactly what transpired leading up to the Oct. 7 crash are expected to be made public in the coming weeks.

Burgett’s next court date, a preliminary hearing, is scheduled for April 10. A defense attorney listed for him in court records did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday morning.

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