Woman Killed From Sneezing While Driving

A woman was killed after another driver came under a sneezing spell while driving, according to police reports.

Friends of the woman from Kansas City, Missouri, who was killed Wednesday in a car crash, prayed Friday for her injured 1-year-old son.

The child who was injured in the accident near Smithville Lake, remained in critical condition Friday at Children's Mercy Hospital.

"I’m almost in shock and just having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing," Cheryl Krecker, who is a friend and colleague of Laura McClendon, 30, said.

McClendon had taken a new job this summer after working for five years with Krecker at Cramer LLC, a Kansas City office seating manufacturer.

"She only had improved her career and was really getting her act together as a single mother," Krecker said.

The tragedy highlighted the fact that fatal traffic accidents apparently caused by sneezing, although unusual, is not unprecedented. She also served as a reminder of the importance of wearing a seat belt, said Sgt. Collin Stosberg of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

According to the accident report from the police, McClendon had not been wearing a seatbelt. Her car collided Wednesday afternoon with a vehicle driven by Kathryn Brady, 44, of Smithville, according to the report.

The accident occurred after Brady’s minivan had driven onto the eastbound lanes, east of Smithville. Brady started sneezing violently, according to the police report, and her car crossed the centerline of the road, hitting McClendon’s car head-on.

Police charged Brady with reckless driving and for not having insurance, Stosberg said.


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