A Poplar Bluff man recently was sentenced to a decade in prison after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge stemming from a February hit-and-run crash that killed a local woman.
Zack Davis, 24, pleaded guilty as charged Dec. 17 to the Class C felony of first-degree involuntary manslaughter before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett, according to Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor.
With his plea, Davis admitted he “recklessly caused the death of Wendy Dumas by striking her with a vehicle” on Feb. 4.
Dumas, 23, died at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, where she was taken following the crash on Highway 53.
“After speaking with the victim’s family, specifically the mother and stepfather, an offer was extended for him to plead guilty to the maximum under the manslaughter in the first degree, which is 10 years, and dismiss the two lesser counts,” Proctor explained.
A Butler County grand jury had indicted Davis on the manslaughter charge, as well as the Class E felonies of tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of an accident.
At the time of Davis’ plea, Proctor said, Dumas’ mother and stepfather gave victim-impact statements.
“It was very emotional,” Proctor said.
The charges against Davis stemmed from an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol into a leaving the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian at 7:46 p.m. Feb. 4 on Highway 53 at County Road 306, according to earlier reports.
Evidence found at the scene reportedly included the suspect vehicle’s license plate, which had fallen off at the time of the crash. The plate’s registration reportedly checked to Davis.
Troopers, according to Cpl. J.T. Wilson’s probable-cause statement, spoke with a witness who reported seeing a white, four-door passenger car leaving the scene and turning north onto County Road 605.
That witness, Wilson said, further reported he got in his vehicle, drove down County Road 605 and saw it pull into a residence belonging to Davis’ mother.
“The witness observed a white male removing the rear license plate from a white passenger car,” Wilson said.
Another witness, Wilson said, also reported seeing a white passenger car with front-end damage driving near his shop building.
That witness, he said, identified the driver as Davis, someone he had known for years and saw through the window.
Wilson said the witness later identified Davis through a photographic lineup.
“According to evidence on the roadway and surveillance footage, the white passenger vehicle was traveling northbound, crossed the entire roadway, ran off the left side of the roadway and struck Dumas,” Wilson said. Dumas had been walking on the southbound shoulder.
Wilson said the vehicle then ran into the ditch before crossing County Road 306.
“The vehicle drove through a parking lot before returning to Missouri 53,” Wilson said.
Two days after the crash, Wilson said, a witness called Troop E and reported the vehicle was parked on his or her property on County Road 605, north of the crash location.
The car’s rear license plate had been removed, and it reportedly had damage consistent with impacting a pedestrian.
Authorities reportedly found Davis’ identification in the car’s center console during the execution of a search warrant.
Authorities were unable to find Davis the night of the crash, and he was described as a “person of interest” in the investigation.
Davis later was taken into custody in Piggott, Arkansas, on Feb. 19.
During an interview at the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, Wilson said, Davis admitted “to driving the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero on Feb. 4” during the nighttime hours.
“Davis stated, ‘I don’t know if I blacked out or fell asleep. I didn’t know what I hit,’” Wilson said.
Davis, he said, further reported he thought he hit a mailbox and left the scene because he was on parole.
“He stated he stopped at his mother’s house on County Road 605 and observed a vehicle in which he thought was following him,” Wilson said. “He then continued south on County Road 605 and left his vehicle where it later was located by investigators.
“Davis said he did not know he struck a person until Feb. 5, 2019.”