DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines police have identified the woman killed in an overnight crash on Thanksgiving.
Police say 66-year-old Connie Allison was the passenger in the vehicle that crashed near the intersection of SE 8th Street and Emma Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The driver allegedly sped up to avoid a traffic stop by a Des Moines police officer. The car then headed south on SE 8th Street at a "high rate of speed", failed to make the turn onto Emma Avenue and crashed into a ditch.
Des Moines fire medics transported the driver — identified as 46-year-old Shawn Michael Bowersock of Des Moines — and Allison to a nearby hospital, where Allison later died from her injuries.
Bowersock was been arrested and charged with:
- Homicide By Vehicle – Eluding
- Possession Of A Controlled Substance
- Driving While License Suspended
- Fraudulent Use Of Registration
- No Insurance
Nearly a month later, lab testing revealed Bowersock had both methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system when the accident happened.
Des Moines police filed an additional charge to reflect that on Dec. 20, 2023: Homicide by Vehicle - OWI.
This is the city's 17th traffic-related fatality of 2023.
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