Tunas Teen Charged With Manslaughter In Alleged Drunk Driving Crash:

Christian County Prosecutor Ron Cleek

A teenager from Tunas is facing charges for allegedly driving drunk and causing the death of her boyfriend last month after her car slammed into a truck in Ozark last month.

Christian County Prosecutor Ron Cleek charged 17 year-old Karena Dawn Smith with one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault. But this isn't Smith's first alcohol related charge. Less than two weeks before the fatal crash in Ozark, Smith pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Fair Grove Municipal Court for a June 2009 incident when she was 16, and was placed on two years probation.

Joshua W. Bridges (family photo)

Twenty one year-old Joshua W. Bridges, of Fair Grove was killed when Smith's car turned into the path of a truck on Highway 14 and Business Route 65 at South 17th Street. Another passenger in Smith's vehicle, Ashley Pierce, suffered a broken pelvis and a head injury. The driver of the pickup, Shannon Mitchell, broke his wrist in the crash.

Court records say that Smith had a blood alcohol content of .191 percent, over twice the legal limit. Smith should not have been operating a vehicle that night as the Department of Revenue had revoked her driver's license.

Cleek says authorities are attempting to locate Smith to arrest her, "She's on the run...but they'll find her." When they do, she will be booked into the Christian County jail on a $25,000 cash only bond or she will be held on a probation revocation.

If convicted, Smith could be sentenced to between 5 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. The assault charges carry a 1 to 7 years in prison sentence.