Missouri Case Tests Party Host’s Role in Fatal Crash

A Jackson County, Mo., judge is considering whether a woman can be tried for involuntary manslaughter after a minor who drank alcohol at a party was involved in a fatal accident.

If judge Peggy Stevens allows the case to go forward, it would be the first time an adult accused of serving alcohol to minors would be tried for a fatal accident.

One of the guests at a party thrown by 47-year-old Sandra S. Triebel in 2009 left the party drunk. He was involved in an accident that killed a 16-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of assault.

The Kansas City Star reports Missouri has a long legal standard of blaming such deaths on the drunken driver, not the person who supplied the alcohol.