A traffic arraignment was held on Tuesday for a Trenton woman involved in a motor vehicle-horse and buggy crash in Trenton that resulted in the death of a Spickard woman.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, 50-year-old Christina Diane Airey waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of guilty to misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner involving an accident. The court sentenced Airey to six months in the Grundy County Jail, suspended the execution of the sentence, and placed her on probation for two years under the supervision of North Missouri Court Services. Airey was ordered to pay a fine and court costs totaling $620.50.
Airey is not to consume alcoholic beverages at any time during her probationary period, is to surrender her driver’s license, and is not drive for the full two-year duration of the probation. She is to complete 100 hours of community service within 120 days; apologize in person to the victim’s immediate family, extended family, and friends in a public setting to be scheduled by the victim’s surviving spouse; and make victim damage restitution in a sum to be determined at a restitution hearing November 26, 2019.
The Trenton Police Department previously reported a vehicle driven by Airey struck the back of a horse and buggy in the 1700 block of East Ninth Street May 31st. The buggy transported 57-year-old Elizabeth Hostetler and her 10-year-old daughter. Both were transported to Wright Memorial Hospital of Trenton before Elizabeth Hostetler was flown to Truman Medical Center of Kansas City where she succumbed to her injuries.
Elizabeth Hostetler’s husband, Joe Hostetler of Spickard, filed a wrongful death suit against Airey in July regarding the accident. A second count in the petition involved a personal injury claim against Airey regarding the Hostetler’s daughter, Maria, who was a passenger in the buggy.
Joe Hostetler demanded a jury trial and requested all issues be tried to a jury.
