Racine man waives hearing in drunken-driving fatality case

Sep. 30—NEOSHO, Mo. — A Newton County man waived a preliminary hearing Monday on charges related to a fatal hit-and-run accident July 5 that claimed the life of a Joplin woman.

Richard S. Taylor, 35, of rural Racine, waived the hearing in Newton County Circuit Court on felony counts of driving while intoxicated resulting in the death of another and leaving the scene of an accident.

Taylor purportedly was driving a Dodge Dakota westbound on Fir Road about a half-mile south of Joplin when he ran off the right side of the roadway and struck and killed pedestrian Sheldonna A. Wood, 60.

He is accused of fleeing the scene and was not located and arrested until the following morning in Carterville.

A probable-cause affidavit submitted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who investigated the accident states that a witness learned about the fatal crash on Facebook and noticed that the truck Taylor parked behind her house matched the vehicle described as leaving the scene. When she went outside to get a closer look, she allegedly spotted hair and bloodstains on the truck's front end and contacted 911, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

When contacted by the state trooper, Taylor purportedly admitted that he was driving the truck when its airbags deployed and that he'd had 10 banana "shooters" that day. When given a breath test the morning of July 6, the defendant allegedly blew a blood alcohol level reading of 0.131, which is almost 60% above the legal limit for driving in Missouri.

Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.