Britne Lee Costello (Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office)
A mother in Kansas is facing years behind bars after admitting to her role in the death of her 4-year-old daughter after the 33-year-old woman got into a fiery car wreck while driving drunk.
Britne Lee Costello appeared in the Sedgwick County District Court on Friday where she pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Costello also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery for the injuries her 2-year-old son suffered in the collision.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office at about 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2023, responded to a report of a car wreck at MacArthur Road and 215th Street West. Upon arriving at the scene, the deputy said he observed a white 2012 Ford Explorer that had gone “airborne” and was in a ditch.
The deputy saw that the vehicle was already catching fire with the three occupants still inside. Costello “refused to get out of the vehicle” until her children were removed, despite the fact that the fire was worsening, deputies said. After the children were taken out through the back rear window, Costello was also removed.
Paramedics said that the 4-year-old was unresponsive from the moment she was out of the vehicle. Costello and her kids were transported to Wesley Medical Center for treatment via ambulance. The child was pronounced dead a few hours later.
An autopsy conducted at the hospital determined that the child died of “multiple blunt force injuries.” The 2-year-old survived with a broken collar bone while Costello had several lacerations on her neck.
Investigators then conducted a collision reconstruction of what they believe happened.
“Evidence on scene showed that the Ford left the roadway to the right, and into the north side ditch. The Ford continued in the ditch for a total of 326 feet, prior to going airborne. During the time in the ditch, the Ford went over two culverts,” the affidavit states.
The vehicle crashed into the third culvert, “causing it to go airborne” and tumble before coming to rest on the car’s passenger side.
“Tire tracks in the ditch show that heavy braking was not applied. Due to the lack of heavy braking to cause skid, using a rolling resistance for the total distance of the Ford in the ditch, the minimum speed that the Ford could be traveling would be 22 miles per hour with absolutely no braking,” deputies wrote.
The car ended up becoming “fully engulfed in flames” before firefighters arrived and put out the blaze.
Deputies at the scene and in the ambulance said they smelled alcohol on Costello’s breath. They later spoke to the children’s father.
“(The father) stated that Costello and he had previously drank vodka straight from the bottle while he was on scene at Costello’s address dropping his children off and helping with things around the house,” the affidavit states.
About two hours after the deadly crash, authorities said Costello’s blood alcohol content measured 0.112, well above the legal limit of .08.
Costello is currently scheduled to appear in court for her sentencing hearing on July 25.
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