Driver charged with manslaughter in death of landscape worker

Prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man who hit and killed a landscape worker with his car last summer with one count of involuntary manslaughter, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

Taylor D. Schrader faces the charge in connection with the death of 47-year-old Terry A. Wright, who died after a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic hit him and a fire hydrant on July 30, 2013. Police at the time said Wright was doing edging work on the side of West Street near 29th Street South when the car left the road.

Wright, an employee of Suburban Landscape Management, was not in the street when the collision occurred, police said last year. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

The car was northbound on West Street at the time.

Schrader made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on Thursday during the morning’s criminal walk-in docket, district attorney spokesman Dan Dillon said in an e-mail. Court records list his charge as “involuntary manslaughter; While under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”

Schrader is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Sept. 18, according to Dillon and court records. But that date could be postponed.

If convicted, Schrader could face 38 to 172 months in prison under Kansas sentencing guidelines. His prior criminal history, if any, would influence the amount of prison time imposed.

This story was originally published September 4, 2014 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Driver charged with manslaughter in death of landscape worker."