Still no charges in suspected DWI fatal crash

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Troopers say that 19-year-old Mizzou student Ashley Footer was turning left onto Providence last Tuesday evening when an SUV slammed into her Honda Civic. Footer was rushed to the hospital and she died Saturday evening.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that they arrested the suspected drunk driver on the scene last Tuesday for DUI with a serious injury.

At this point, charges have not been filed against the driver.

MSP says now that Ashley has died, the driver could be looking at more serious charges.

Daniel Dodson of Dodson and Waters Law Firm says it's more common for charges not to be filed right away if a blood test was given instead of a breath test.

Dodson said, "To take a blood test instead that usually takes anywhere from a month to six months to get the test results back from the highway patrol."

Prosecutors may choose to wait before filing charges and they have up to three years to do so.

Dodson says," Some prosecutors will hold off till they get the blood test back and figure out what the level of impairment might have been."

The charges prosecutors choose to follow depend on many factors. If the driver has a criminal record, any prior drunk driving charges and the recklessness and carelessness that was involved in the crash.

Dodson said that vehicular manslaughter would be the most common type of charge in this case. Being found guilty of vehicular manslaughter would lead to a seven to 10-year prison sentence.

The Footer family created a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.

Her final resting place will be in the seaside village of Urla in her mother's home country of Turkey.