DRUG TEST FALSE ON TRUCK DRIVER IN FATAL I-70 WRECK

Although the results turned out to be wrong, no procedural errors were made
during the initial drug screening performed on a truckdriver involved in a
fatal wreck last month.

The screening produced a false positive for three drugs, said the Missouri
State Highway Patrol and the hospital that performed the test.

John Kendrix, 44, of Moultrie, Ga., was involved in an explosive wreck Aug.
26 when his eastbound tractor-trailer crossed the Interstate 70 median near
Sweet Springs, Mo., and slammed into a pickup truck carrying five Kansas
City area residents.

Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, Mo., initially told the Highway Patrol
that Kendrix had tested positive for amphetamines, barbiturates and
marijuana. Four days after the crash, the patrol completed its own drug
tests and concluded that Kendrix had no illegal or prescription drugs in
his system.

Fitzgibbon and the patrol released a written statement Thursday saying the
drug tests were screening tests, which can result in false positives.

"Screening tests are notorious for giving false positives," said Bob
Stewart, public relations director for Fitzgibbon. "If you take Alka-
Seltzer Plus, it can test positive for marijuana, barbiturates and
amphetamines."

He would not disclose what screening tests were used on Kendrix or whether
it was blood or urine that was tested.

Dick Brummel, deputy regional administrator for the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services in Kansas City, said his federal agency reviewed the drug
screening procedures and found that Fitzgibbon properly performed the test.

Highway Patrol Capt. C.T. Ricks agreed that false positives can occur.
Patrol officials also said that they could not recall a time when a
hospital's initial drug screening differed from the final results.

Stewart said the reason for the hospital's initial silence regarding the
false positive results were two-fold. Patient confidentiality prohibits the
hospital from discussing the incident and, he said, "it's hard to explain
the technicalities of false positives to the general public."

Despite the erroneous drug test report, Ricks said, the outcome of the
wreck remains the same.

"There are five people dead because that truck came through and hit them.
Coming cross the median is a violation of the law," Ricks said."But I think
we could have solved a lot of heartache if (the hospital) had talked about it."

The crash killed Debra Sprouse, 45, of Lee's Summit, and her two children,
Ashley Sprouse, 14, and Zachary Corn, 7; Ashley Curl, 15, of Overland Park,
and Scott Schrier, 45, of Lee's Summit.

Ricks said the patrol is trying to determine why Kendrix's truck crossed
the median.

After learning that Kendrix had no illegal drugs in his system, Saline
County prosecutors downgraded the involuntary manslaughter charge against
him so that the maximum penalty, if convicted, would be 25 years in jail
instead of 35 years.

Kendrix's attorney, Weldon Perry Jr., could not be reached Thursday
afternoon. Kendrix's next court appearance is 9 a.m. Oct. 26.