Elijah Henderson

Elijah Henderson (photo courtesy the Missouri Department of Corrections)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Elijah Henderson, 31, pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of involuntary manslaughter in court in St. Charles, Missouri, in connection to the death of two mother-daughter pairs from Louisville in 2020.

Carrie McCaw, 44; Lesley Prather, 40; Kacey McCaw, 12 and Rhyan Prather, 12, were killed in an accident on Feb. 14, 2020, on Interstate 64 outside St. Louis. The group was on its way from Louisville to a volleyball tournament in Kansas City.

Henderson was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for each count, according to the St. Charles County Prosecutor's Office. His sentence for each count will run concurrently and also run concurrently with a sentence he’s already serving for a probation violation. He went to prison on that charge last August, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

A police investigation revealed that Henderson's pickup truck crashed through the cable barrier on I-64 and crossed into the oncoming lanes, hitting a minivan carrying the four victims. According to court documents, Henderson tried to grab the handle to roll up the passenger side window, which caused him to veer into oncoming traffic.

A toxicology report revealed his blood tested positive for THC.

Lesley Prather was a Louisville firefighter. She began working at the Louisville Division of Fire in October 2016 and spent her entire career serving west Louisville with Engine Company 22.

Both Prather and McCaw coached a 10-year old volleyball team at KIVA. Sixth-grader Kacey McCaw and 7th-grader Rhyan Prather played for one of KIVA's national volleyball teams, according to KIVA's website. Ron Kordes, the president and director of KIVA, described both girls as "wonderful young daughters" who were following in their mothers' footsteps.

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