Man charged in fatal crash previously convicted 14 times for DUIs, suspended license

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) -- On Monday, prosecutors charged a metro man with causing a deadly crash in January.

Paul Dowdell, 39, is charged with driving while intoxicated resulting in the death of another person.

At the time of the crash, Dowdell was driving on a suspended license, according to court documents. He was also allegedly driving on a suspended license when police picked him up this past Saturday for running a red light.

According to Dowdell's record, he's been convicted 14 times for driving on a suspended license. He's also been convicted of driving while intoxicated five times.

According to court documents related to the Jan. 5 case, Dowdell sideswiped a semitrailer on the ramp from westbound Interstate 470 to northbound Interstate 49. It happened around 8 p.m.

The impact pushed the semi off the left shoulder of the highway and into the concrete barrier. Investigators say the semi traveled over the guardrail, through the median and across all oncoming lanes of 71 Highway. The semi then hit the concrete barrier on the other side of the highway.

The driver of the semi was ejected and later died of his injuries.

Court documents show Dowdell was also injured in the crash and went to the hospital for treatment. The same documents show Dowdell left the hospital against medical advice -- and before police arrived to question him about the crash.

Investigators obtained Dowdell's medical records and learned his blood alcohol concentration was .295 the night of the crash, court records say.