photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Eric Spaeth, pictured in December 2019

A Lawrence man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with an Aug. 20 accident that killed a 24-year-old woman. 

Eric L. Spaeth, 43, was arrested Friday and charged Monday in Douglas County District Court, records indicate. He faces a charge of second-degree murder, a high-level felony or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter. He is also charged with misdemeanors: driving under the influence — his second offense, according to the charging document — and driving while suspended.

Spaeth is accused of hitting Elizabeth Allen, of Lawrence, who was heading southbound on Haskell Avenue from 27th Street on a scooter, in his Toyota Tundra. According to a news release from the Lawrence Police Department, test results from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation indicated Spaeth had a 0.205% blood alcohol content, more than 2 1/2 times the legal limit.

In the accident report, an officer wrote that Spaeth thought Allen was a pedestrian who had been walking and didn’t know where she came from. The officer wrote that Allen and the scooter had been dragged under the truck for some distance before Spaeth drove off the road to the right.

Spaeth was released from the Douglas County Jail on $75,000 cash or surety bond, jail records indicate.

Online court records as of Wednesday did not indicate a retained or appointed defense attorney for Spaeth.

Spaeth’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 16.