Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010

Man charged with involuntary manslaughter

Journal Staff

A Blue Springs man has been charged with felony first-degree involuntary manslaughter, according to the prosecuting attorney of Jackson County.

Raymond A. Lapietra, 26, also faces charges of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.

According to reports, at 10:45 p.m., Oct. 29, Lapietra was driving south on Interstate-35 merging onto eastbound I-70. Lapietra allegedly lost control of his car and hit a concrete retaining wall, which caused the vehicle to be redirected back onto east I-70. The vehicle eventually slid to a stop in the road.

Reports indicate a witness, who was driving on I-70, saw the wrecked vehicle in the road and got out of the car. The witness saw an unconscious female in the front passenger seat and an injured child in the back seat, who had cuts to his lip. Lapietra was in the driver’s seat, reports state.

The witness also reported smelling an alcoholic odor coming from Lapietra.

When Kansas City police officers arrived, they removed the still unconscious woman from the car and began to perform CPR. She was pronounced dead on the scene by medical officials. Lapietra and the child were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

According to reports, Lapietra refused to submit a chemical test of his blood at the hospital. After a search warrant was obtained, Lapietra tested positive for Cannabinoids and Ethanol, and had a blood alcohol content of .08, which is more than the legal limit.

Lapietra also had a suspended Missouri driver’s license with six convictions for driving while revoked, suspended, denied or no driver’s license.