According to court records, Gannon was texting, looking at her phone and listening to loud music when she lost control of her vehicle in September and slammed into a car driven by Loretta Larimer, a great-grandmother from Camden Point who had pulled off the Kansas City, North road into grass in an attempt to avoid the out-of-control vehicle headed her way.
The manslaughter charge alleges that Gannon demonstrated “criminal negligence” by losing control by texting while driving.
Gannon also is charged with third-degree assault for injuries suffered by Larimer’s 10-year-old granddaughter, who was riding in Larimer’s back seat, and she is charged with violating the 2009 Missouri law that prohibits motorists 21 or younger from text-messaging.
If convicted of the manslaughter charge, Gannon faces up to four years in prison. She faces up to one year in jail on the assault charge, and a $200 fine if convicted of texting while driving.
According to court records:
Gannon was driving a neighbor’s Honda Pilot north in the 12200 block of Northwest Skyview Road when the wreck happened about 3 p.m. Sept. 26.
Larimer, who had to be cut from her Nissan Altima, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Her granddaughter suffered a chipped arm bone, hurt neck and numerous bruises.
At the scene, Gannon told police she was looking at her phone when she lost control, according to the records. As she attempted to regain control, the vehicle slid across the roadway and into Larimer’s car.
A 15-year-old passenger from Gannon’s vehicle told police that Gannon was texting and looking at her phone and had the music “turned up too loud.” He noticed Gannon was going off the road and into the grass and said, “Rachel!” Gannon dropped her phone and tried to steer back onto the road, the witness said.
According to Larimer’s granddaughter, Larimer saw the vehicle coming at them, said “Aaah,” and swerved off the road into the ditch. Police determined that Larimer’s car was near a complete stop when the Pilot struck it. The road did not have a shoulder.
