Jackson County prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin woman with two felonies in connection with a hit-and-run accident that killed a Grandview teacher and father of 10 late last month.
Kyrie Fields, 27, is accused of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and tampering with a motor vehicle for her alleged involvement in the collision that killed 43-year-old Charles Criniere while he was riding his bicycle.
The accident occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 27. According to the probable cause statement accompanying the criminal complaint, Fields "was texting a friend, then she took her eyes off the roadway and when she looked up she struck the victim on his bicycle.”
Criniere was declared dead at the scene.
Fields told police that she was high on the opioid Percocet at the time.
Fields’ boyfriend, Ameer Asad, was in the passenger seat of the car when she struck Criniere, according to court documents.
In an interview given to police after her arrest, Fields admitted that, after the accident, the pair drove the car, a white Acura MDX, to a garage on SW 10th Terrace. Her boyfriend and another friend then cleaned the car after Fields said it had hit a deer.
Later that night, Fields allegedly called a tow truck and gave the service a fake name . The vehicle was then towed to a lot near US 71 Highway, where a male was seen setting the car on fire.
Sometime later, the vehicle was towed to a location on Main Street, where it was identified by Grandview police by matching it to parts recovered at the scene of the accident.
Fields told police she was too high to remember who had set fire to the vehicle or if she had called the tow truck. She also told them her Wisconsin driver's license was suspended and she had no insurance for the car, according to the probable cause statement.
Fields is free on a $100,000 bond.
