Man who caused multi-car crash, killing 1, accused of driving under influence of PCP


A driver who crashed into three cars over the weekend, killing one person, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of PCP, according to court documents.

Kansas City police say Donyell Horton, 50, was speeding in a gold Chevrolet Equinox on eastbound Interstate 70 near Manchester Avenue Saturday night when he crashed into a Toyota Camry, Ford Expedition and Ford F150 pickup truck.

Jackson County court documents identify the deceased as Troy Chatman, Jr., 54, who was driving the Expedition. After Horton hit the three cars, the Expedition flipped, rolled over the Camry and slid down an embankment, KCPD spokesperson Officer Alayna Gonzalez told the Star.

Chatman was ejected onto the shoulder of the road, where he was pronounced dead. He was not wearing a seatbelt, Gonzalez said.

The force of the crash also pushed the Camry and F150 off of the highway and into the guardrail, according to court documents. No injuries were reported in those two vehicles.

Witnesses said Horton sideswiped two other cars on the highway just before the crash, court documents state. Horton told police detectives that he was driving between relatives’ homes, and that he had been trying to move out of the way from another car that swerved at him.

Horton admitted to driving between 70 and 75 mph before the crash, according to court documents. The speed limit at I-70 and Manchester Avenue is 45 mph.

Horton, who lives in Kansas City, Kansas, failed six field sobriety tests at the scene of the crash. In documents submitted to Jackson County court, officers testified that they smelled alcohol and PCP on him.

Most commonly known as “angel dust,” PCP is an addictive hallucinogen that distorts sight and sound. It’s becoming more common for people to take it by smoking cigarettes or joints of marijuana dipped in liquid PCP, according to court documents.

Detectives found two cigarettes dipped in PCP in Horton’s car, according to court documents. Horton told detectives he had taken marijuana and PCP the day before, but denied being intoxicated Saturday.

Chatman, who lived in Kansas City, Missouri and worked as a dump truck driver, loved to ride his motorcycle in his free time, according to an obituary written by friend Tyron Riley.

“Troy’s sudden departure has left us all with an irreplaceable void,” Riley wrote online Sunday.

Horton had previously been convicted of driving under the influence in Kansas, court documents show. He has also been charged with several offenses related to possessing and distributing drugs, according to court records.

After the crash, the eastbound lanes of I-70 at Manchester were closed for about three hours.

For a DWI resulting in vehicular manslaughter and for a second count of drug possession, Horton could face between six and 22 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in court June 10.

A fundraiser supporting Chatman’s funeral expenses has raised just over $1,000 since Sunday.

The incident was the 45th road fatality in Kansas City this year, compared to 32 at this time last year, according to police.

In the past year, 70 people have died in Missouri in 56 fatal crashes involving drugs, according to state data. Speeding was a main factor in 7% of fatal crashes in the same time period.

The Star’s Andrea Klick contributed reporting.

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