24-year-old accused of auto theft charged with murder in crash that killed Hutchinson woman
A 24-year-old woman has been charged in the death of another woman after a fatal crash Monday in northeast Wichita.
Court records show Katelyn Barrioz, of Wichita, was formally charged Thursday with first-degree felony murder, second-degree murder; unintentional but reckless, felony flee and elude, aggravated burglary, auto theft and criminal damage to property, Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan said at a Thursday media briefing.
Barrioz had a prior probation violation warrant before the Monday incident, said Capt. Aaron Moses, WPD spokesperson.
Barrioz is accused of crashing a stolen vehicle into a car that was being driven by 43-year-old Mandy Buckwalter of Hutchinson.
Buckwalter died at the crash site.
Officers were alerted at 11:07 a.m. to a stolen 2014 Ford Escape through a license plate reader in the area of Pawnee and Meridian. Police previously said they spotted the vehicle being “occupied” in the parking lot of the River Walk apartments in the 2700 block of S. Emporia in south Wichita.
The Escape was reported stolen on Oct. 24, the Eagle reported.
Officers followed the vehicle in an unmarked car to the Walmart on Rock Road where it parked. Two people were inside the vehicle. One occupant got out, went inside and came back out.
The Kansas Highway Patrol’s mobile air unit was assisting WPD in following the vehicle.
Between 12:20 and 12:30 p.m., officers attempted to stop the vehicle from leaving the parking lot. Police deployed spike strips, deflating two tires. However, Barrioz and the other occupant, a 24-year-old Wichita man, were able to get away, striking a police car in the process, a WPD news release said.
Officers did not pursue the vehicle and instead used the KHP’s mobile air unit to track the vehicle. The stolen vehicle stopped at a business on North Webb Road, where the two suspects fled on foot. Police apprehended and arrested the man, according to police.
Barrioz managed to elude police, entered an open garage and stole a 2024 Ford Transit van from the business and fled south on Webb, then west on 29th Street. KHP air support continued following her until she struck Buckwalter’s 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt at 12:39 p.m. at the intersection of 29th Street North and Wilderness.
Barrioz attempted to flee on foot again but was taken into custody. She was treated at the hospital for injuries and then booked into jail.
Emergency personnel treated Buckwalter at the scene but she was pronounced deceased at 12:57 p.m., police said.
Buckwalter was a home assistant supervisor at Heartspring’s therapeutic school, which helps children with developmental disabilities, the nonprofit said Tuesday on Facebook.
She had been working there for three years.
She was a “cherished colleague who made a lasting difference in the lives of the children in our care,” the post says. “We are grateful to have experienced her warmth, commitment, and genuine spirit.”
The 24-year-old man was booked into jail Monday on suspicion of misdemeanor charges of criminal deprivation or a motor vehicle and driving while suspended. He has since bonded out of jail, inmate records show.
Police said Barrioz and the 24-year-old man were acquaintances.