Missouri Injury Attorney Blog

Jarub Baird has been found guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault as a result of the auto accident that killed a young Missouri teen according to a Joplin Globe report. Another chapter in the death of a Missouri teen has come to a close with the conviction of the person who drove the vehicle in which she lost her life Dec. 8, 2006. There is a wrongful death trial pending in Jasper County Circuit Court against Baird filed by Smallwood’s parents – Andrew and Deborah Smallwood.

If you or a family member has been injured in a car accident and would like to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney, call David Payne or contact him online.

In Missouri, as with most states, family members are able to recover money from an individual, insurance company or corporation that is legally liable for a loved one's death. The Missouri law, which is a statutory creature, specifically states what damages are recoverable in a wrongful death lawsuit. The value of a wrongful death lawsuit can and often does vary greatly depending on the specific facts of each particular case. However, Missouri courts and juries have a history of placing a very high value on human life.

A Stone County jury found 18-year-old Baird of Carthage guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault as a result of the accident that killed Smallwood and injured two other Carthage teenage girls.

Also injured was passenger Calee Houlihan, who was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, and fortunately she suffered only minor injuries. The car left the road, sheared a utility pole off at its base, slammed through a barbed-wire fence line and rolled about 100 yards before coming to rest on its side in a snow-covered field.

Three of the four teenagers in the Mazda Millenia, including Baird, who was 17, were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the vehicle. Smallwood, who was sitting in the back seat with Johnson, then 16, was thrown through the car’s windshield and died at the scene.

Johnson suffered a brain injury, a broken femur among other injuries. Baird walked away with only minor injuries. Houlihan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat and had put on her seat belt only moments before the crash, also suffered only minor injuries.

The state's attorney claimed that Baird was driving at an excessive rate of speed – at least 100 miles per hour – when he left the roadway. According to testimony, the car's other occupants had seen the speedometer read 110 mph before the accident.

According to the trial testimony of Missouri State Highway patrol accident reconstruction expert Lt. Albert Brown the vehicle was traveling at least 99 mph. However, Baird’s attorneys said Baird had volunteered to drive because the others had been drinking and Baird offered to be the designated driver.

As a result of the jury's conviction, Judge Gayle Crane of Jasper County Circuit court ordered a pre-sentence investigation and designated Aug. 14 as the date for sentencing.