Independence mother killed in wreck was KC cannabis leader

Jennifer Jensen worked with Grön edibles, a woman-led edibles company, as one of her first jobs in the cannabis industry. She was highly regarded in the Kansas City cannabis industry before she died in a car crash in Independence on Dec. 27.

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The people who knew Jennifer Jensen only think of her with smiles and laughter.

She was a devoted mother who found her lane as an influencer in the Kansas City cannabis industry. A woman who never met a stranger with a kind, magnetic personality that naturally drew people to her.

And most of all, she supported everyone she met, according to loved ones.

Jensen stopped traffic to give hygiene kits to homeless women. When her brother’s car broke down, she packed her own car to take him to a music festival to ensure he could use the tickets he bought. She consistently gave words of encouragement to anyone she met.

“She just had a beautiful heart man, no matter what,” Jensen’s brother, Alex Jensen, told The Star.

Jensen’s loved ones are remembering the woman she was after she was killed in a car crash by an alleged drunk driver in Independence on Dec. 27.

On that day, Independence police officers responded to the wreck at the intersection of Kentucky Road and Missouri 291 just before 9:20 p.m. Jensen was in the passenger seat of a maroon 2010 Ford Ranger with her partner driving and her 12-year-old daughter in the backseat.

They were leaving her partner’s family Christmas party, Alex Jensen said.

Detectives determined that a white 2004 Chevrolet Silverado travelling at a high rate of speed ran a red light while traveling southbound on MO-291 and struck the passenger side of the Ford Ranger that was northbound with a green light, court records say.

One person was killed, three others injured after a two vehicle crash at the intersection of MO 291 and East Kentucky Road. Google Maps

Jensen, 36, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her daughter suffered a lacerated liver, bruised lungs and a cut above her left eye, according to court records. She also is in a sling from a broken collarbone but is doing well, Alex Jensen said.

Jensen’s partner suffered two broken femurs and a broken hand as well additional damage to his lower body and stomach, Jensen said.

Mason McIntyre, 20, was found by officers as the sole occupant of the Chevrolet, trapped behind the wheel, and had to be cut out by firefighters before being transported to a hospital, according to court records. Officers found a beer bottle in the center console of his vehicle.

McIntyre’s blood alcohol level was a .186 two hours after the crash, according to court records, more than twice the legal limit. Investigators could smell alcohol on his breath, as McIntyre couldn’t tell them where he was or where he was going when questioned.

Four days after the crash, McIntyre was charged with count of DWI death of another passenger and two counts of second-degree assault. He entered a not guilty plea in a Jackson County courtroom Monday, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit with chained wrists and ankles, his left hand wrapped with white gauze.

McIntyre has filed a motion to lower his $100,000 cash bond to $25,000, according to court records. A bond review is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 1 p.m.

If convicted, the DWI charge carries up to 15 years in prison. The two counts of second-degree assault could carry up to seven years in prison each, if convicted.

McIntyre’s family members and Jensen’s loved ones were in attendance at the hearing.

As both families left the hearing, a quick yelling dispute between them had to be calmed by a sheriff’s deputy in the hall.

Jensen’s loved ones told The Star they are angry as they grieve the loss of someone they describe as an angel.

“I lost it,” Jensen’s father David Jensen said. “I don’t remember a couple of days after that, the shock [is] still hitting.”

David Jensen, father of Jennifer Jensen, and Cheryl Horne speak to media outside Albert Riederer Community Justice Complex, on Monday, January 5, 2026. Jennifer Jensen died in a car accident in Independence on December 27. Dominick Williams dowilliams@kcstar.com

“I hate to say it, but their family can always call him no matter what. They may have to pay for a collect call, but I can’t call my sister,” Alex Jensen said.

Prominent in local cannabis industry

Jensen’s extroverted, kind-hearted traits helped her be a significant influence in the local cannabis industry, loved ones said.

She grew up in Independence and lived in California before returning to the Kansas City area. Jensen worked as a budtender while working other jobs before settling in the cannabis industry full time with Grön edibles, a woman-led edibles company. Jensen worked for another company before she established her own marketing business for cannabis companies.

Jensen, a middle child of three who was Alex Jensen’s older sister, got him started into the industry after he worked in public service.

When Jensen was tiring of running her own business, her little brother did her the same favor of helping her land a job with the cannabis dispensary From The Earth at their Brookside location, where she was quickly hired and loved by her coworkers.

Jensen worked there before she died and had just been nominated for Employee of the Month in December and was going to be considered for the award in January as well.

“She’s one of the first round of sales reps in the Missouri cannabis industry,” budtender Reggie Miller told The Star. Miller knew Jensen for five years and first met her when she was a sales rep for Grön. “Since we’re not very new, and she was one of the very first goal-oriented [people] in the industry.”

Other friends that Jensen met in the cannabis industry attended McIntyre’s hearing to support her family. They admired Jensen’s love for her daughter, the Kansas City Comets, Sporting Kansas City, and their shared love of the green herb.

Loved ones of Jennifer Jensen, left, said she and her daughter Emery were like twins because of how close they were. Jensen taught her daughter to be assertive and truthful, loved ones said, and that she could do anything she set her mind to. Submitted

“Every person that came into her life, she cared about,” Jensen’s friend Victoria Cuevas said. “If you didn’t have what you needed, she’d make sure you did.”

Jensen, Cuevas, Tanner Young and Bailey Wynn consistently spent time together attending Comets games and partaking in Jensen’s favorite strain, sativa.

“Literally give you the last dollar that she had,” Young said. “The last joint,” the three friends said together with laughter.

Jensen’s loved ones said she and her daughter, Emery, were like twins, and they will spend the rest of their lives sharing stories about her mother with her. Emery’s father died from a drug overdose in 2015, Jensen said.

“I’ll tell her everything I can about her mom, how special her mom was, and how much of an angel she was,” David Jensen said of his daughter. He wore white Fila sneakers to the hearing, a birthday present from his daughter that he debuted for the hearing.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has already surpassed it’s $12,000 goal, garnering more than $28,000. From The Earth donated $5,000 towards the fundraiser that will help pay for medical expenses and funeral costs.

Jennifer Jensen, center, was the middle child of her siblings, Kari, left, and Alex, right. Alex Jensen said he and his sister were close, and she is the reason he began a career in the cannabis industry. Submitted

As Jensen’s loved ones grieve and remember her life, they want McIntyre to be punished to the full extent of the law.

“I would like the accused to pay the time that he needs to pay,” Miller said.

“It was everything I can do not to come up out of the chair, but I did it for respect to my family,” David Jensen said.

“There was a lot of harm and a lot of neglect and a lot of misappropriate actions that happened, and all of it could have been accounted for with one simple action, but it was avoided entirely,” Alex Jensen said. “So I just hope, truthfully enough, that justice does what it does.

“Honestly, for whatever, however long time, it’s probably not enough.”

Jennifer Jensen, left, met Bailey Wynn while they worked at NatureMed Dispensary in 2020. They quickly became friends and stayed close. Wynn said Jensen’s last text to her was a congratulatory text for becoming a barber. Submitted

PJ Green

The Kansas City Star

PJ Green is a breaking news reporter for The Star. He previously was a sports reporter for Fox’s Kansas City affiliate and a news reporter for NBC’s Wichita Falls, Texas affiliate. He studied English with a concentration in journalism and played football at Tusculum University. You can reach him at pgreen@kcstar.com or follow him on Twitter and Bluesky – @ByPJGreen

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