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Wichita man sentenced for leaving scene of reported street race that killed driver

A Sedgwick County judge on Friday sentenced a 34-year-old Wichita man to two years of probation for leaving the scene of a deadly crash last spring that reportedly involved street racing.

Andrew Schmidt, 32, of Wichita received fatal injuries to his head, chest, arms and legs in the March 28, 2022, collision near 47th South and Broadway. He died in the hospital early the next morning. Two innocent bystanders in a Chrysler Town and Country were hurt but survived, police have said.

Eyewitnesses told Wichita police they saw Schmidt racing a Honda Civic against a GMC Sierra truck around eastbound traffic moments before Schmidt lost control, crossed the center line and slammed into the Chrysler. The man driving the truck, Trenton L. Jennings-Harris, went home instead of stopping or calling 911 after Schmidt wrecked shortly before 5 p.m. in the 500 block of West 47th Street South, near Palisade.

Jennings-Harris later told police he left because he didn’t want a young daughter who was with him to see the crash, according to a probable cause affidavit released by the court.

In the police interview, he denied racing Schmidt, an acquaintance, the affidavit says.

Jennings-Harris pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. In a written motion seeking probation, Jennings-Harris’ lawyer wrote that Jennings-Harris feels “remorseful for any distress caused to the victim’s family” but said putting him in prison would “devastate” his own family.

The probation carries an underlying prison term of 34 months, said Kristin Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. District Judge Eric Williams imposed the sentence.