For further information please contact: Sergeant Dan Green
(816) 622-0800
A080706
August 21, 2007

EMPHASIS: Subject Arrested For Involuntary Manslaughter 1st Degree And Assault 2nd Degree



On August 21, 2007, at 5 p.m., the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Joseph S. Thornburg, 26, of Garden City, Missouri, on a Cass County warrant for involuntary manslaughter first degree-vehicular intoxication, a Class C felony, and a Cass County warrant for assault second degree-vehicular injury, a Class C felony.

On June 15, 2007, Thornburg was driving a 1990 Chevrolet Geo Tracker when he was involved in a one-vehicle crash on Sherwood Road near Sherwood School in Cass County, Missouri. The crash resulted in the death of the front seat passenger, Ruth L. Eads, 19, of Garden City, Missouri, and serious injury to the rear seat passenger, Betty L. Sierks, 19, of Creighton, Missouri.

Thornburg is being held at the Cass County Jail, Harrisonville, Missouri, on a $25,000 cash only bond.

The above charges are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence.
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