Manslaughter Charges Filed In Crash That Killed Tulsa Priest, Seminarian

Tulsa County prosecutors have filed manslaughter charges against a woman involved in a crash that killed a priest and a seminary student last summer.

Keianne Denise Shelton faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter.

Father Jorge Alvardo and Stanley Kariuki died Sunday, August 21, 2011 when their car was hit by a 2003 Chevy Impala driven by Shelton at 36th Street North and Cincinnati.

According to the documents filed by prosecutors, Shelton was driving under the influence of liquor when the crash happened.

Alvardo had only been a priest for about six weeks when he was killed.  He was a native of Mexico, Kariuki was a native of Kenya who had recently applied to the Diocese of Tulsa to become a seminarian.

Police said at the time of the crash that they believed Shelton may have been trying to escape gunfire, but the court documents filed Tuesday make no mention of that.

8/22/2011:  Related Story: Shootout May Have Led To Death Of Tulsa Priest, Seminary Student