Woman arrested for fatal crash

SMITH COUNTY – A woman has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection to a Jan. 14 crash that left an 86-year-old Arp woman dead. Smith County arrest records show that on Jan. 14 at around 2:37 p.m., a red pickup truck heading north was slowing down on State Highway 64 to turn left on County Road 294 near Lake Tyler East. According to our news partner KETK, the pickup truck slowed down, a 2010 Lexus RX350 crossover SUV was traveling north on State Highway 64 behind it. The driver of the Lexus allegedly did not slow down in time to stop and swerved the car into the ditch. The Lexus then came back onto State Highway 64, where the Lexus crashed into a 2011 Kia Sorento heading south.

A witness at the crash scene told a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) investigator that she saw the driver of the Lexus was not paying attention and was still traveling at around 75 to 80 miles per hour when they finally noticed the truck and swerved off the road.

The DPS investigator also spoke with the driver of the red pickup truck, who said he saw the Lexus “flying down” toward his truck in his rear view mirror. He reported that the Lexus driver was slamming on their brakes but was still going too fast to avoid his truck, so they swerved around it.

The truck driver also showed his truck’s dash cam video to the DPS investigator for evidence.

Edith Ann Starkes, 84 of Kilgore, was driving the Kia and died when the Lexus hit her vehicle, according to arrest records. The driver of the Lexus, Ashaunti Ahmee Njie, 33, was seriously injured in the crash and taken to a local hospital.

Njie was tested at the hospital and was found to be positive for drugs, which can impair driving by causing sleepiness, sedation or relaxation, according to DPS.

“Due to Ashaunti Ahmee Njie failing to control her speed, the video evidence of this crash, the witness statements of this crash, and having positive urine results for Benzodiazepine and Opiates,” the DPS investigator wrote in an arrest warrant for Njie. “This shows a gross deviation from a reasonable standard of care, resulting in the death of Edith Ann Starkes.”

Njie was arrested on Friday, July 24, for criminally negligent homicide in connection with Starkes’ death. Njie was booked into the Smith County Jail on Friday but was released after posting bond on Saturday, jail records show.

Starkes’ funeral was held at Arp First Baptist Church in Arp on Jan. 22. She’s remembered as a homemaker, a faithful church member and an avid gardener.