‘Out of nowhere’: Man sped 93 mph before fatally hitting Wichita woman’s SUV
A 26-year-old Colorado man charged in the death of Wichitan Kathy Knorr was driving more than twice the posted speed limit — 93 mph in a 40 mph zone — in the moments before his Volkswagen Tiguan fatally struck her Lexus SUV in March, according to court records released last month.
Knorr, 82, whose loved ones remembered her as a sports and photography enthusiast who was devoted to serving the community, died on March 30. Wichita police have said she was turning out of a residential neighborhood after stopping at a stop sign when Austin L. Hedges slammed into her shortly after 9 p.m. on March 16. The crash happened around the 800 block of North Rock Road, where it intersects with Killarney.
A probable cause affidavit written by Wichita police detective Justin McCluskey that was released by a Sedgwick County judge last month gives new details about what happened leading up to the fatal collision.
Hedges’ lawyer, who opposed the affidavit’s released in court filings and said it would prevent him from receiving a fair trial by an impartial jury, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Hedges has not yet been arraigned, when defendants often enter a not-guilty plea.
According to the affidavit, witnesses who saw the crash told police that Hedges’ vehicle “came out of nowhere” and that Knorr “would have made it if he wasn’t going so fast.”
Hedges, who grew up in Wichita and was in town visiting a friend, claimed he had been driving the speed limit on his way to dinner at 21st and Rock. He told police when Knorr pulled out in front of him, he had no time to react and tried to swerve to avoid a collision, the affidavit says.
But witnesses police spoke with described Hedges’ speeds as 70 mph or more.
Data obtained from the event data recorder on Hedges’ Volkswagen corroborated witness accounts, according to the affidavit.
The device recorded Hedges traveling at 93 mph five seconds before his airbag deployed and about 56 mph when he hit Knorr’s vehicle, the affidavit says.
The impact pushed Knorr’s SUV up on a sidewalk against a tree. Hedges’ vehicle, meanwhile, went the opposite direction and drove over a curb. Both vehicles received heavy front-end damage, the affidavit says.
Knorr was taken to Wesley Medical Center with several broken bones, collapsed lungs and a brain bleed. She died in the hospital two weeks later. Hedges received a small abrasion on the tip of his nose, the affidavit says.
Prosecutors allege Hedges was driving recklessly when he collided with Knorr’s vehicle. He was charged in April with one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with her death, Sedgwick County District Court records show.
His next court date, a preliminary hearing, is scheduled for July 15.
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