Cole County deputy pleads guilty to misdemeanors for 2023 crash in patrol vehicle; sentenced to probation
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Cole County deputy pleaded guilty on Friday to a pair of misdemeanors related to a December 2023 crash that left a driver with serious injuries.
Mercy Gonzalez, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty to reckless driving and failing to obey a traffic control device. She was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation, was ordered to complete 40 hours of community service within six months and must successfully complete the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Course in October.
If she does not complete probation, she faces a year in jail. A Department of Public Safety spokesman wrote in an email that Gonzalez had an active peace officer license and is commissioned by the Cole County Sheriff’s Office.
Gonzalez was previously listed as a school resource officer in the Blair Oaks R-2 School District, though her information no longer appears on the district’s website.
The probable cause statement says Gonzalez crashed her patrol vehicle with a Honda Pilot at the intersection of Highway 179 and West Edgewood Drive in Jefferson City on Dec. 15, 2023.
The Honda was driving on West Edgewood Drive when it was hit by Gonzalez’s Dodge Charger that was driving 115 miles per hour while going south on Highway 179, court documents say. Gonzalez had her emergency lights on, but court documents do not clarify if she was in a chase. The statement says Gonzalez tried to steer away from the victim’s vehicle, but was unsuccessful.
The Dodge Charger hit the Honda at a speed between 104-107 mph, the statement says.
"Gonzalez failed to operate her emergency vehicle in a safe manner when she failed to reduce the speed of her vehicle for the steady red stop signal at an intersection as necessary to not endanger life or property. Gonzalez bears the sole responsibility for this crash," a trooper wrote in the probable cause statement.
ABC 17 News reached out to the Cole County Sheriff’s Office and Blair Oaks R-2 School District.
