Des Moines Register
10-06-06
Sentencing is today in Ames hit-and-run
The driver could get up to 10 years for the death of the ISU student.
By LISA ROSSI
REGISTER AMES BUREAU
Ames, Ia. - The parents of a 20-year-old Iowa State University student who
was struck and killed by an automobile as she walked home from a friend's
house last year said the early morning fatality may have been unintentional, but it
was not just an accident.
"We have a minor who was driving under the influence of alcohol and took
someone's life," said Pam Laughery, whose daughter Kelly died after being hit
from behind by a vehicle driven by Shanda Munn, an ISU student at the time.
Munn, 21, is scheduled to be sentenced today in the Story County courtroom of
District Judge William Pattinson.
Munn, who pleaded guilty last month of vehicular homicide, has admitted drinking
and driving and leaving the scene. She has said she thought she may have
struck a mailbox. Under the terms of her plea agreement, she faces a maximum
prison sentence of 10 years.
Kelly Laughery's parents, Pam and Doug Laughery, said the tragedy highlights
the dangers of drinking and driving, but they said they don't believe it was a
deliberate crime.
"More than anything, we hope Miss Munn is able to lead a productive life and do
something Kelly would've done down the road," Doug Laughery said.
The Laugherys said nothing will replace their daughter. They recalled her as a
person who laughed a lot and had such a passion for volunteering that she
logged in 900 hours of community service through a program called AmeriCorps
her senior year of high school.
"She thought life was precious and pursued it that way," her father said.
On Dec. 3, 2005, the morning that Laughery was killed, Munn had left a keg party
in west Ames. She has admitted consuming six to eight drinks before climbing
into her car.
After the accident, Munn told a friend that she couldn't remember the route she
had driven home, and she thought she had hit a mailbox or a signpost, according
to court papers.
Laughery was walking in the dark that morning. She had been dropped off at a
friend's house, but the friend wasn't home, said her father. Her ride left, thinking
she was going to go inside. Her cell phone was dead, so she headed on foot to
her sorority house, about seven or eight blocks from where she was hit by Munn
sometime around 4 a.m.
When Munn heard that someone had been killed in a hit-and-run accident, she
called her friend back, asking what to do. The friend told her to speak to an adult.
The case has generated considerable discussion on and around the ISU
campus about the dangers of drinking and driving. The city of Ames also has
worked to improve pedestrian safety, and state lawmakers are pushing to change
penalties for hit-and-run accidents.
Rep. Lisa Heddens, a Democrat from Ames, sponsored legislation, which passed
this year, that increases the penalty for someone who fails to stop and render aid
at an accident that causes the death of a person.
"My hope (is) if they think they have hit someone, that they will stop," said
Heddens, who was inspired to pursue the law change after what happened in
Ames.
"It is a life that hangs in the balance, and minutes and seconds can mean
everything," she said.
Much has been done to memorialize Laughery, including a 4-H scholarship that
was created in Adair County in her name. She was a member of Sigma Kappa
sorority, and she enjoyed mentoring younger people, her parents said.
"We all miss that bright, sunny disposition she had," Pam Laughery said. "We
missed being able to give her a hug, tell her we love her. We miss the phone
calls. We just miss her."
Munn's supporters are asking the judge to be lenient to the young woman. They
say Munn thinks every day about what happened.
"She's not a criminal. She didn't do drugs. She didn't purposefully go out and
stab somebody. It was the wrong place, wrong time," said Janel Kuennen, a
manager at Bucky's Store, where Munn went to work earlier this year.
Her family and friends said they hope Munn will talk to high school and college
students about her story. They look forward to the conclusion of the case.
"I feel like people are trying to make her seem like a horrible person," said
Munn's second cousin, Becky Hansen, 28, of Bondurant. "I don't want people to
think she feels like she's getting away with something."
Reporter Lisa Rossi can be reached at (515) 232-2383 or lrossi@dmreg.com