Kori Lane of Paducah appears with her attorney Don Thomas May 31 in Marshall County District Court. A grand jury indicted Lane on second-degree manslaughter charges Tuesday in the May 20 death of 16-year-old Sierra Jones.
A Paducah teenager accused in the May 20 death of her 16-year-old passenger was indicted Tuesday in Marshall County.
The grand jury returned a true bill on Kori E. Lane, 18, on charges of second-degree manslaughter and DUI, according to court documents on file at the Marshall County Circuit Court Clerk’s office. The indictment reads that Lane “on or about May 20, 2017, in Marshall County Kentucky … committed the offense of manslaughter, 2nd degree, by injuring and killing Ms. (Sierria) Jones by wanton indifference to the value of human life in the reckless handling and crashing her vehicle in violation of KRS 507.040.”
Lane appeared last month before Judge Jack Telle in Marshall County District Court and waived her right to a preliminary hearing in the matter, giving consent for the grand jury to proceed with the case. Telle signed an order to allow Lane to enter a pre-trial substance abuse program while incarcerated, per the request entered through her attorney Don Thomas.
The program could delay court preceedings by about six weeks; the victim’s family was consulted prior to the hearing and consented to allowing treatment.
Lane was initially charged with murder in the case and held on a $500,000 bond after the incident. County Attorney Jeff Edwards amended charges after Lane’s blood alcohol levels came back at .06, under the legal limit for an adult driver to be considered impaired in Kentucky. Drivers younger than 21 are considered over the legal limit above a .02 BAC.
According to Marshall County Sheriff’s Department reports, about 12:10 a.m. Saturday, May 20 responders were dispatched to a single-car crash at the intersection of Griggstown and Salyer Creek roads in Marshall County. Police say Lane was speeding and driving recklessly when the vehicle she was driving dropped off the shoulder and began to bounce. Sheriff Kevin Byars said Lane was unable to regain control of the car.
“From what they described to me, it looked like she ran off the road and tried to recover, got to bouncing and then when it hit Salyer Creek Road it just kind of launched it from that point,” Byars said in a previous interview.
The vehicle struck a tree, killing Sierria D. Jones, 16, of Marshall County.
Lane is scheduled to appear for review at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 8 in Marshall County Circuit Court.