An Oklahoma City man, Alias Bah De Za Lawrence Soudry, has been sentenced to a federal prison term for a collision last year that resulted in a woman’s death and injuries to another person while he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma announced Soudry’s sentence of 60 months followed by three years of supervised release, as reported by a press release yesterday.
According to court records, the incident occurred on June 14, 2024, when Soudry’s vehicle drifted across the center line on Highway 76. The resulting collision fatally injured Raquel Anderson, a driver of a second vehicle, and a passenger in her car was also hurt, but subsequently released from the hospital. A blood test administered to Soudry indicated the presence of impairing substances, which led to his arrest and a charge of involuntary manslaughter by a federal Grand Jury on September 17, 2024. This case was under federal jurisdiction as Soudry is a member of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, and the crash happened on Chickasaw Nation territory.
On June 4, Soudry pleaded guilty, admitting his actions directly caused the fatality. “Soudry pleaded guilty and admitted he knowingly drove a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana and thereby caused the death of another person,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman, who remarked upon the severity of Soudry’s intoxication and the impact on the victims during her announcement on Tuesday…