Kansas driver convicted of murder after fatal 130 mph crash and flight to mexico — Photo: #post_seo_title

KANSAS CITY, KS – A Kansas man has been convicted of second-degree murder after prosecutors said he drove more than 130 mph while intoxicated and crashed into a 75-year-old driver, later fleeing the country and discussing the case in a YouTube interview.

A Johnson County jury last week found Isaiah Sadowski guilty in the December 2021 death of Barbara Patterson, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. Sadowski had pleaded not guilty in 2022.

Prosecutors said the high-speed crash killed Patterson, 75, and triggered a chain of events that led to Sadowski leaving the United States before his eventual capture in Mexico.

YouTube interview and claims about crash

In a June 2024 interview with YouTuber Jesse Crosson, Sadowski described his actions and acknowledged leaving the country while his case was pending.

“I had just found out that my fiancee was cheating on me over Christmas,” Sadowski said. “I was still reeling from finding out that I was being cheated on.”

“I was 20 years old at the time. As a 20-year-old, you’re cheated on by a girl that you’re engaged to and it’s the end of the world, right? The world’s crashing down on you. This is the end of it all. So that night I went, I drank. … and I was involved in a car accident and I was subsequently charged with murder.”

Sadowski also disputed responsibility for the crash during the interview. “I believe that both cars caused the car accident,” he said. “Both cars ran a light.”

When pressed about traffic signals, he added, “The light that the other person was coming from was amber, amber, amber — just turned red— and then my light was solid red, but I was braking leading up to it. And so we both ran a red light.”

Authorities had previously alleged he was driving at extreme speeds and under the influence when the collision occurred.

Flight from the U.S. and arrest abroad

Sadowski acknowledged in the interview that he had left the United States while out of custody. “I am no longer in America,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what the next steps are here because there was no legal path forward.”

Court filings cited by local reports confirm his departure violated the terms of his bond. “Defendant, by his own public admission, has intentionally left the United States,” defense attorney Gregory Watt wrote in an April 2024 filing.

“Defendant has both violated the terms of his bond and violated the terms of the attorney/client contract with our office,” Watt added.

Sadowski was later taken into custody in Colima, Mexico, in a joint operation involving the U.S. Marshals Service and Mexican authorities, according to The Kansas City Star.

Civil settlement and ongoing sentencing process

Separate from the criminal case, Sadowski agreed to pay $1.5 million to Patterson’s son in a wrongful death settlement filed in Jackson County Circuit Court. Court records show the agreement was reached in June 2022 through an insurance policy.

During the interview, Sadowski maintained his innocence and described mounting legal costs. “And you might say, ‘Well then just take it to trial and let the justice system do what the justice system does,'” he said. “But unfortunately, I’m $300,000 into this. I’ve had three defense attorneys that have given up on me.”

A sentencing date has not yet been set, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.

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