Woman Pleads Guilty to Intoxication Manslaughter

TYLER – A woman has entered a guilty plea, in state district court in Tyler, in connection with a fatal Smith County accident. Jessica Lauren Vass, 36, of Lindale, pleaded guilty Monday morning to two charges of intoxicated manslaughter. She decided to have a jury hear punishment testimony and assess her sentence; that process was scheduled to begin Tuesday. In April of last year, Vass was involved in a thee vehicle accident on Toll 49, just north of Highway 64. A car, driven by Annette Burkhart, 56, of Garland, was stopped southbound on the side of the roadway with a flat tire. A pickup truck, driven by Gary McCrary, 62, of Flint, was stopped behind the disabled car and McCrary was assisting Burkhart in changing the flat tire.

Vass was traveling southbound when she struck the back of the truck, then hit the other car, causing the vehicles to strike both Burkhart and McCrary. McCrary was pronounced dead at the scene and Burkhart was taken to a Tyler hospital where she was pronounced dead. Vass was also taken to a local hospital and was treated and released.