Judge sets trial date in wrongful death suit against Katherine Deweese, MHTC for Ryan Coffman wrong-way crash

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- The mother of a St. Joseph motorcyclist killed in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 229 last May has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver and two entities responsible for managing the area where the crash occurred.

A wrongful death trial has been scheduled by Judge Terry White in the Buchanan County Courthouse for Dec. 16, at 9:30 a.m. following a joint petition filed in court in late October by Cheryl Luke, mother of Ryan Coffman, for a wrongful death settlement.

The lawsuit lists Katherine Deweese, the St. Joseph driver found guilty of 2nd degree manslaughter in the case, as well as the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and HDDA, LLC, as defendants.

HDDA is the owner of the property near the exit ramp where the wrong-way crash occurred on May 17, 2024. The company still owns the land after funding issues forced it to cancel a planned hotel in 2024.

The MHTC is listed as the third defendant in the case. The commission oversees the bridge and exit ramp where the crash occurred -- approximately halfway up the ramp -- as well a portion of the intersection of South Third and Edmond Street where Do Not Enter/Wrong-Way signs face east warning drivers.

Four months after the crash occurred, five new "Wrong-Way" and "Do Not Enter" signs were added to the intersection of South Third and Edmond streets by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Signs were also added at the exit ramp that leads to Felix Street.

The civil suit comes after Deweese was sentenced to four months in jail in April for the fatal wrong-way crash that killed 33-year-old St. Joseph motorcyclist Ryan Coffman.

Deweese had plead not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, but admitted during an emotional one-day trial in March to accidentally driving the wrong-way up the I-229 6A exit ramp that leads Downtown to Edmond and South Third streets because she didn’t see the signs, crashing head on with Coffman midway up the ramp just before 5 a.m. on May 17, 2024.

Coffman, who was heading Downtown for a volunteer shift at Sunshine Electric Display, suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of being ejected from his motorcycle and was later pronounced dead.

During the bench trial, prosecutors argued Deweese knowingly and recklessly drove through multiple “Do Not Enter” signs while being distracted by a heated dispute with boyfriend and passenger Eric Richey. Despite a probable cause statement from police saying Deweese admitted to being in the argument, the defense later claimed the argument never occurred.

The defense did not argue that Deweese accidentally went up the ramp, but disputed that she “recklessly” did so causing the death of another person, maintaining that she did not see the signs at the time of the crash, called 911 and cooperated with officers at the scene.

A preliminary breath test administered on Deweese at the scene following the crash indicated her blood-alcohol content was 0.065%, below the legal limit of 0.08. Police requested a subsequent blood draw at the Law Enforcement Center for further testing.

The subsequent test showed Deweese’s reporting limit of alcohol was well below the limit at 0.010%, however, the test was administered more than three hours after the crash occurred as she initially refused.

During the on-scene investigation, officers discovered a metal beverage container in one of the vehicle’s front seat cup holders that had a small quantity of clear liquid at the bottom. Multiple officers testified the container had a faint smell of alcohol coming from it but despite that, it was revealed during the trial that the liquid was never tested for verification.

Deweese, a registered nurse for 13 years, had lived in the Downtown area not far from the exit for roughly three years prior to the crash, and denied drinking the morning of the incident.

Deweese was never arrested or issued a citation by St. Joseph police, she was later charged on Aug. 20, three months after the crash occurred.