The Douglas County district attorney’s office has charged a Lawrence driver suspected of striking and killing a 20-year-old KU student and leaving the scene.
William R. Klingler, 36, is charged with one count of leaving the scene of a fatality accident, a level-4, or midlevel severity, felony.
He also faces a charge of circumvention of an ignition interlock device; driving while suspended, second or subsequent offense; and no proof of motor vehicle liability insurance coverage.
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Elsa McGrain, a 20-year-old premedicine student, was struck by a vehicle Thursday evening, Nov. 6. She was found around 3:35 a.m. Friday.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies believed she was running when she was struck, and the driver fled the scene.
Deputies received and investigated tips from the community and arrested Klingler Sunday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.
Klingler is set to be formally charged during a Wednesday afternoon appearance in Douglas County District Court.
If convicted, he could face between 38 and 172 months in prison — a little more than three years up to more than 14 years.
Court records indicate Klingler was charged in July 2024 with driving under the influence in what would be his fourth or subsequent conviction if found guilty. The charging document lists two cases in 2019, one in 2018 and one in 2012.
He faces a few other charges in the same 2024 case, including circumventing an ignition interlock device, which is a device that requires people convicted of DUIs to take a breath test before their vehicle will start. That case is also pending.
A judge set Klingler’s bond at $500,000 cash or surety, meaning he’d likely need to pay a bondsman $50,000 to be released from the Douglas County jail pending trial.
Arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless they are convicted.
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