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We provide specialized winterization services to safeguard your pool during the off-season, and when spring arrives, we handle the thorough opening process.
A felony DWI involving an accident with injury is one of the most serious charges a person can face under Missouri law. Unlike felony DWIs based on prior offenses, prior convictions are not required when the State alleges that intoxicated driving caused physical injury.
These cases often develop quickly and aggressively. What many people do not realize is that the State’s burden of proof is significantly higher in injury-based DWI cases. Prosecutors must prove far more than intoxication.
Kissell Law Group has extensive experience defending felony DWI accident cases statewide, including cases where timing, causation, and forensic evidence determine whether the charge stands or falls.
Under Missouri law, a DWI may be charged as a felony based solely on the presence of physical injury, regardless of a driver’s prior record, under RSMo §§ 577.010, 577.001, and 577.023.
In these cases:
These cases are complex and often far more defensible than they appear at first glance.
To convict a person of a felony DWI based on an injury accident, the State must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
Failure to prove any one of these elements means the felony charge cannot stand.
Intoxication alone is not enough.
Criminal negligence is not assumed simply because alcohol is involved. The State must prove:
Accidents occur for many reasons unrelated to intoxication, including road conditions, vehicle defects, other drivers, medical events, or unknown variables.
In accident-related DWI cases, timing is frequently the weakest link in the State’s case.
The prosecution must establish:
These cases often involve:
Probable cause and timing must exist before an arrest, not reconstructed afterward. If the State cannot reliably establish the time of operation, it cannot meet its burden under RSMo § 577.010.
If no one saw the accident and the timing is unclear, the defense issues are often substantial.
Felony DWI accident cases often turn on how the crash itself is interpreted, not simply whether a report exists.
Attorney Thomas Kissell has personally deposed Missouri State Highway Patrol forensic accident reconstructionists, including senior investigators responsible for high-level crash analysis. Through that work, he developed his own analytical charts and frameworks using electronic data, physics, roadway evidence, and vehicle damage, rather than relying on assumptions.
We do not accept conclusions at face value. We test them.
EDRs are often casually referred to as “black boxes,” but that term comes from aviation. In vehicle cases, EDR data is limited, specific, and context-dependent. Without proper interpretation, it can be misleading.
Crash Report Conclusions | Physical Evidence Analysis |
Narrative summary based on interviews | Objective data from vehicle systems |
Estimated speeds | Actual speed and braking data from EDR |
Officer assumptions about fault | Physics-based reconstruction |
General point of impact | Measured crush damage and energy transfer |
Time inferred after the fact | Event sequencing from data and scene evidence |
Alcohol assumed to explain behavior | Alternative causes evaluated and tested |
Conclusions accepted at face value | Conclusions challenged and verified |
In serious injury cases, the truth is often found in the data, not the assumptions.
In felony injury DWI cases, the State must prove criminal negligence and causation. Forensic reconstruction often reveals:
These issues frequently create reasonable doubt when properly identified and explained.
A felony DWI involving injury carries:
The stakes are high, but outcomes depend on proof, not labels.
Every felony DWI accident case begins with a free consultation. Our team gathers detailed information immediately so the matter can be evaluated accurately. These cases are reviewed internally, including attorney review, before representation is offered.
Clients can expect:
We are selective in the felony cases we accept and take seriously the responsibility of defending clients facing life-altering charges.
If you are being investigated or charged with a felony DWI involving an accident with injury in Missouri, time matters. Evidence fades, assumptions harden, and timelines get reconstructed quickly.
If no one witnessed the accident, if the timing is uncertain, or if intoxication at the time of operation is being assumed rather than proven, you need experienced defense immediately.
Contact Kissell Law Group today to discuss your situation and understand what options may be available.