(Radio Iowa) – A Mason City woman is being sentenced after pleading guilty to charges in a fatal accident two years ago connected to driving while using a cell phone. The woman’s attorney is challenging the sentence.
Nineteen-year-old Jade Quam was charged with vehicular homicide by reckless driving, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, after striking a bicyclist, 42-year-old Jennifer Buls-Vrba of Mason City, in Mason City on the evening of July 24th 2024. Buls-Vrba was taken to MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
As part of a plea agreement, Quam pleaded guilty in May to involuntary manslaughter, a Class D felony. District Judge Blake Norman sentenced Quam to five years in prison during a hearing on Monday. Quam’s attorney on Tuesday filed a motion to reconsider the sentence, saying that pursuant to a plea agreement, prosecutors and a pre-sentence investigation recommended a suspended five-year sentence with probation, with prosecutors saying Quam could ask for a deferred judgment.
Judge Norman has set September 18th as a hearing date for reconsideration of the sentence.
