MS woman is guilty of manslaughter in crash that killed an officer. ‘I think I passed out.’
A Mississippi woman pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter for causing a one-vehicle crash that killed off-duty Waveland police officer and mother-of-two Katie Cash.
A tearful Angela Christina James of Carriere admitted to being legally drunk and reaching a speed of up to 100 mph — as clocked by a sensor in her vehicle — when her vehicle ran off the road in a curve and flipped, trapping her in the car and ejecting two of the passengers.
Cash, who was a passenger in the car with James, died at the scene. The crash happened one day after Cash graduated from the Harrison County Law Enforcement Academy.
The one-car crash happened around 3:45 a.m. on July 18, 2021, on a curve just before the intersection at Highway 603 and Paradise Lane. The car was headed north when it left the highway and flipped, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said at the time.
During her plea hearing Monday before Judge Christopher Schmidt, James said she thought she passed out while she was driving and that her vehicle went off the road as a result of her negligence because she was legally drunk and barreling down the highway at such high speeds.
A Hancock County grand jury indicted James on one count of manslaughter and four counts of felony DUI causing death or disfigurement.
In exchange for her guilty plea, Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Necaise and Daniel Christopher said prosecutors agreed to dismiss the four other felony charges.
James entered an open plea in the case, leaving it up to the court to decide her sentencing since James was not satisfied with the prosecutors’ recommendation for a prison sentence, her attorney, James “Jim” Gray, said.
The judge will ultimately decide what sentence James will receive.
After entering the plea, a bailiff led James, now 45, out of the courtroom pending her transport back to the Hancock County jail pending sentencing.
Schmidt deferred sentencing until August to get a pre-sentence report.
James could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and fined up to $10,000 for the crime.
Cash’s family did not attend the plea hearing.
Those who were there to support James, along with her attorney, declined to comment after the hearing.
In the aftermath of the crash that killed Cash, Waveland Police Chief Mike Prendergast made an emotional post about losing Cash, 33, and asked the community to keep Waveland police officers in their prayers as well as Cash’s family, especially her two children.
Glen Collins, who attended law enforcement training with Cash, also spoke of how much of an impact she had on his life in the short time they spent training for law enforcement. Cash joined the George County Sheriff’s Department after graduating from the academy.
“11 weeks! 11 weeks is how long I’ve known you Katie Cash!,” Collins wrote at the time of the deadly crash. “I’ve grown so fond of you and this morning I wake up to the news of your passing! 11 weeks was not long enough! You had your whole life ahead of you and you were just getting started in your LEO career. I’m gonna miss you dearly. Your little girls and your entire family are in my prayers. “
