Driver charged for DWI fatality

A West Plains woman has been charged for a DWI crash-related fatality that occurred late last year. Taylor L. Hamby, 21, of West Plains, is charged with the class C felony DWI – death of another and two class E felony charges of DWI – physical injury. A summons has been issued for Hamby to appear on July 8 for her initial appearance on these charges. 

 

The crash occurred at roughly 4:40 am on State Route ZZ, 8 miles east of West Plains on December 23, 2023. The Missouri State Highway Patrol online traffic crash report states that Hamby was driving a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee that failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the road, striking three fences, and overturning in a field. Brian Powell, 28, of West Plains, was the front seat passenger, according to court documents, and was ejected in the crash and fatally injured. The driver and two other passengers, Dakota Weet and Calvin Brashers, both 18, of West Plains, sustained moderate injuries. Weet was the only person reported to have been wearing a seatbelt.

 

Troopers spoke with Hamby at the crash and said she had an odor of intoxicants in court documents. Hamby told authorities she had been back-roading after leaving her house around midnight or 1 am. She allegedly told authorities she “was the soberest one, that's why (Hamby) was driving”, saying that after the crash, she searched for Powell. She said he was alive when she found him, but he passed away from his injuries while she was holding him. 

 

Hamby allegedly told troopers she drank five to seven beers. Troopers noted in court documents that the woman had performed poorly in several field sobriety tests and a sample of her blood had been taken for analysis. Current court documents do not list any results for the blood sample at the time of publishing.