Woman pleads guilty after causing a deadly crash during a police pursuit in Vernon Parish

A Missouri woman has entered a guilty plea on a criminal charge after she caused a deadly crash in Vernon Parish last year as she was fleeing from police. McKenzie Pinzino, 25, of St Joseph, Missouri, pleaded guilty on a charge of Manslaughter. Prosecutors said it happened on February 23rd in New Llano when police were investigating a hit-and-run accident involving Pinzino. When they found her and tried to stop her, she fled and led them in a high-speed pursuit that went for 13 miles to the Rosepine Community where she crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Highway 171 at Ikes Road. Killed in the crash was 84-year-old Rosepine resident Vernon Jackson, while Pinzino and a passenger in her vehicle were injured and had to be hospitalized. Sentencing for Pinzino is scheduled for April 9th and she faces up to 40 years in prison.