Aug. 7—WILKES-BARRE — A Wilkes-Barre woman who Pennsylvania State Police say had cannabis in her system when she crashed her vehicle resulting in the death of Zyier Spruell pled guilty to related offenses Monday.
Jayda Latriece Barber, 29, of Griffith Lane, pled guilty to accidents causing death and driving under the influence of a controlled substance before Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.
Barber is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 2. She remains free on $100,000 unsecured bail.
State police in court records say Barber was traveling north on Interstate 81 when she lost control of her 1997 BMW just past the Oak Street Bridge in Pittston Township on July 14, 2020.
Barber’s vehicle spun into the grassy medium where it flipped and rolled multiple times coming to rest against a guide rail for the southbound lanes, court records say.
Spruell, 18, a passenger in the BMW, was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled. He died at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township.
Another passenger, Santalena Lundy, of Wilkes-Barre, suffered severe injuries.
Two bags of marijuana and sealed packages of marijuana laced cookies were found inside the vehicle, court records say.
Search warrants were served to retrieved Barber’s blood for testing, which showed levels of THC Delta in her system at the time of the crash, according to court records.