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Accused crash killer a no-show in court

By Brian Hagen

10/11/2018

Maria Perez-Marquez/photo credit: Douglas Co Neb Dept of Corrections

(KMZA)--A Nebraska woman, charged in connection with a head-on crash that claimed three lives in Jackson County last year, was a no-show for court on Thursday.

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse confirmed Thursday afternoon that 49-year-old Maria Perez-Marquez failed to report to Jackson County District Court for a planned preliminary hearing.

Her current whereabouts are not known.

Those killed in the November 25, 2017 crash were all members of a Sabetha family.

Perez-Marquez was arrested in Omaha, Nebraska in August on a Jackson County warrant charging her with three felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, two felony counts of aggravated battery, and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

She was booked into the Jackson County Jail, but later released on a $10,000 bond.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Perez-Marquez was driving a southbound sport utility vehicle on U.S. 75 when she attempted to pass another vehicle, which led to the fatal crash.

42-year-old Carmen Ukele, her 11-year-old daughter, Marlee, and her 62-year-old brother-in-law, Stephen, were returning home from Hutchinson after watching the Sabetha High School football team capture the state 3A championship.

Carmen's husband, Lee, was seriously injured in the crash. According to a family friend, he continues to be hospitalized at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, in Omaha.

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