KS mom drank vodka & drove before daughter, 4, died in fiery crash. She pled guilty - MASHAHER

A south-central Kansas mother has pleaded guilty to one count each of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol and aggravated battery in connection with a fiery rollover traffic crash that killed her 4-year-old daughter and injured her then 2-year-old son last year.

Britne Lee Costello, 33, of Wichita, “pled guilty as charged,” said Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. She is scheduled for sentencing on July 25, court records show.

Emma Rae Lee Fox died on Feb. 19, 2023, two days before what would have been her fifth birthday, her obituary says.

Authorities have said the girl’s mother, Costello, tried to pass another vehicle as she was driving west on MacArthur when she overcorrected and left the roadway, causing her Ford Explorer to roll and catch fire. A probable cause affidavit released in the case says the Explorer traveled in a ditch for more than 300 feet and over three culverts before “going airborne” and rolling multiple times.

The crash happened around 5:15 p.m. west of Schulte.

A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office deputy and several citizens rescued Costello and her children from the burning vehicle, but Emma was unresponsive. She died from multiple blunt force injuries after the family was taken to Wesley Medical Center for treatment, the affidavit says. Her younger brother suffered a broken collarbone and other survivable injuries, while Costello had a cut on her neck and a possible broken ankle, according to the document.

The affidavit says a deputy who help apply gauze to Costello’s neck at the crash site “could smell the odor of alcohol coming from” her and also from inside the ambulance that took her to the hospital. Emma’s father later told the deputy that he and Costello “had previously drank vodka straight from the bottle while he was” at Costello’s home “dropping his children off and helping with things around the house,” the affidavit says.

Costello had a blood-alcohol content of .112 less than two hours after the crash, the affidavit says testing showed — more than the legal limit of .08 to drive in Kansas.

Prosecutors charged Costello in May. She previously pleaded not guilty. At the time of the crash, she lived in Douglass, authorities have said.