Wichita woman given maximum sentence after she drove drunk, killed Andover man
A 44-year-old Wichita woman was given the maximum sentence by a judge Thursday after pleading not guilty to driving drunk through a crash scene and hitting and killing a man in east Wichita.
Valerie Palace was convicted in April on charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery while driving under the influence. She was sentenced this week to 77 consecutive months in prison — the maximum sentence allowed by law — according to a press release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. She was sentenced to 36 months of post-release supervision.
The charges stem from crimes that happened Oct. 24, 2023 at 13th and Greenwich in east Wichita, a probable cause affidavit in the case said. 71-year-old Billy Wineinger of Andover was outside his vehicle checking for damage from an earlier crash near the intersection when Palace hit him with her Toyota 4-Runner. He died at the scene.
Palace told police that just before the crash, she was trying to calm down her dog. But the affidavit noted that Palace smelled of alcohol and that her eyes were bloodshot and watery. She refused a breath test, but a search warrant was obtained for a blood test that showed she had a blood alcohol level of 0.131. A toxicologist who reviewed the results later said that meant her blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was between 0.164 and 0.215, the affidavit said. The legal limit to drive in Kansas is .08.
She told police she drank one glass of wine before getting behind the wheel, but security footage from a restaurant earlier that night showed her drinking an apple martini as well, the court document said.
Palace was founded guilty of the felony crimes by a jury.
“The Office of the District Attorney appreciates the Court’s rulings today, affirming the jury’s verdict and imposing a sentence that is consistent with the harm suffered by the victims and their families,” Deputy District Attorney Aaron Breitenbach said in the release.
