A 19-year-old Wichita man has been sentenced to five years, four months in prison for causing a fatal two-car crash downtown last May. Authorities say he was driving around 50 mph over the posted limit at the time.

Jessie Gunter pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to involuntary manslaughter and six counts of aggravated battery in the May 22, 2023, collision that killed Johnathan D. McPherson-Pickett and injured several others. The crash happened around 11:50 a.m. in the 700 block of E. Murdock, near Washington as it turns into Mosley. Wichita police have said Gunter was driving a Kia Sorento eastbound on Murdock when he “struck a bump in the road” and lost control, according to an affidavit released by the court.

One witness told authorities they saw the Kia driving “way too fast,” lose a tire and cross the center line, where it slammed into the Ford Edge McPherson-Pickett was riding in. The Kia then rolled over into an empty lot. The woman driving the Ford told police she tried to brake to avoid the crash, the affidavit says.

A law enforcement analysis of security camera footage that captured the crash shows Gunter driving between 79 miles an hour and 81 miles an hour before he crashed into the Ford Edge, the affidavit says. The posted speed limit on that stretch of road is 30 miles per hour.

Gunter told police in an interview that he’d just left a nearby hospital and was “trying to catch up to friends” when he “tried to beat the light pulling onto Murdock,” hit sand in the street and lost control, the affidavit says.

In all, eight people were hurt in the crash, including children. Their injuries ranged from broken bones to a limb amputation, the affidavit says. McPherson-Pickett, who suffered severe head trauma, did not regain consciousness. He died on May 24, 2023, at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital.

An 18-year-old was later charged for shooting into a crowd gathered outside of New Life Church and Outreach Center after he was denied entrance by family to McPherson-Pickett’s funeral. Police have previously said that shooting was gang-related.

Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams sentenced Gunter on Friday. Lawyers who negotiated Gunter’s plea agreement recommended placing Gunter on probation “on the basis that the nonprison sanction will serve community safety interests by promoting offender reformation” and because he had no prior criminal history. The lawyers also recommended the court order Gunter to “pay reasonable, workable restitution” and “complete a court-approved defensive driving course,” the plea agreement says.

But Williams disagreed and imposed a 64-month prison sentence. The judge also ordered a total of $50,000 in restitution to be paid to two victims, Dillon said. Each will receive $25,000.

Wichita teen charged in shooting at church where he was turned away from funeral

Updated: 19-year-old man dies after accident that injured eight near downtown