SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man involved in a fatal 2019 car crash made a court appearance in the case Friday.
Jerry Batts, 30, Wichita, was charged with 2nd degree murder or in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.
In November of 2019, Batts was driving a Ford Escape and did not stop at the posted stop sign at the intersection of North Charles Street and West 53rd Street in Wichita, according to Wichita Police.
The Ford struck a Honda passenger vehicle, rolled and struck power pole.
A passenger in the Ford identified as 28-year-old Sierra Frost of Wichita died in the crash, according to police. Batts and the 72-year-old driver of the Honda were not injured.
Batts next court appearance is scheduled for April 11, according to the District Attorney's office. He remains in jail on a $150,000 bond.
Cases can be charged alternatively if there are two or more theories of how the crime was committed. Each charge can be presented to a jury and a defendant may be convicted of more than one of the alternative charges. However, the defendant can only be sentenced for one of the alternative counts, that being the most severe offense, according to the district attorney's office.