Omaha driver pleads no contest in 2022 DUI crash that killed woman

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The driver in a 2022 fatal DUI crash pleaded no contest to charges and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Michael Packett, who was 24 at the time of the crash, was originally scheduled to go to trial this week, but he recently pleaded no contest to the charges of manslaughter and DUI causing serious bodily injury.

Michael Packett was charged Wednesday, June 29, 2022, with manslaughter after another driver... — Michael Packett was charged Wednesday, June 29, 2022, with manslaughter after another driver was killed in a fiery crash on Dodge Street in Omaha over the weekend.(Douglas County Corrections)

Packett is accused of killing a woman while driving drunk at 76th and Dodge in June 2022.

The crash forced victim Gina McKenna’s vehicle into a wooden pole on the south side of Dodge Street, where it caught fire. The 44-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Packett faces up to 20 years in prison.