A three-year old case of reckless homicide surrounding a two-vehicle crash in Quincy that killed a Rushville grandmother and her three grandsons came to a close today in Adams County Court.
39-year old Natahsa L. McBride pleaded guilty to two counts of driving on a revoked license. McBride was originally charged multiple times with first-degree murder, reckless homicide, and failure to report a crash causing personal injury or death.
According to charging documents in the case, McBride allegedly ran a traffic light at Fourth and Broadway while speeding on Aug. 14, 2020 and collided with a vehicle driven by Stephen Hendricks of Rushville. The collision ended up killing Hendrick’s wife and grandchildren: 54-year old Jeniffer Hendricks, 6-year old Dakota Corrick, 4-year old Archer Corrick, and 21 month-old Ransom Corrick.
Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones spoke with Quincy media prior to today’s plea and sentencing hearing providing further background on the case: “Our office also learned (through the course of discovery) that immediately before the incident Ms. McBride had made an unsuccessful attempt at ending her own life through the use of a firearm. Additionally, after the crash had occurred, Ms. McBride made several strange statements indicating that her mental state could possibly be an issue. During the pendency of the case, Ms. McBride’s attorneys asked that she be examined to determine if she was legally sane at the time of the crash. Their expert determined that, in his professional opinion, the defendant lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of her conduct and thus, was not legally responsible for that criminal conduct.”
The Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office also obtained an expert opinion in the case which corroborated the defense’s expert’s findings. During lengthy negotiations with the defense over the last three years, a plea agreement was announced on July 24th prior to McBride heading to a bench trial.
Jones says that due to McBride’s mental state at the time of the crash, she was only eligible to plead guilty to the 2 counts of driving on a suspended/revoked license out of the 16 charges she was facing.
Jones says he and the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office understand the frustration of the public and of the Hendricks and Corrick families about the outcome of the case: “I would never presume to speak for the family but in our conversations with them, they understood why we were required to proceed in this fashion. While not happy with the result, they accepted it as the best possible resolution. We appreciate that our community may not be pleased with the result, and that many people will feel that the defendant has escaped justice, and that our office has allowed it to happen. While we strongly disagree to such an assessment, we appreciate that such a feeling is understandable. We can only hope that after considering the facts presented in this case and the ethical standards that our community should expect our office to embody, the citizens of Adams County understand that the actions taken today by the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office reflect the principles of fairness and justice that every prosecutor is sworn to protect.”
During the hearing yesterday afternoon, Judge Tad Brenner sentenced McBride to serve three year sentences in IDOC for each count, which were ordered to be served consecutively for a total of 6 years. She was given credit for 1,092 days served. All other charges were dismissed per the plea.
During victim impact statements, Molly Corrick, the mother of the three children told how she said goodbye to her children and how their absence turned her family’s world upside down. Her husband, Lucas Corrick, expressed his frustration with the plea agreement and why McBride would eventually be allowed to walk free.
Stephen Hendricks, the lone survivor of the crash, discussed the deep loss of losing his wife and grandchildren simultaneously and the regret for things with his family that now will not be able to happen. Hendricks also said that he deals with pain, stiffness and soreness daily from injuries leftover from the crash.
McBride tearfully apologized during her statement of allocution, saying she never would purposely harm anyone and that she suffers from acute mental illness for which she is now medicated for on a daily basis. McBride also revealed that her mother committed suicide shortly after her arrest in 2020.
Muddy River News reports Judge Tad Brenner concluded the hearing yesterday that perfect justice will never be had.