A police chase overnight ended in an accident on I-70 near 57th Street with one dead, according to Kansas City, Kansas, police.
The chase started when an officer saw a suspicious vehicle near 18th and Metropolitan about 12:19 a.m. Sept. 20, and followed the vehicle to a dead end, the police spokesman stated.
The vehicle made a U-turn and the officer conducted a traffic stop, pulling in front of the vehicle, the spokesman stated. They observed the driver and an unresponsive female passenger, according to the spokesman.
As officers approached the vehicle, the driver backed, then drove toward officers, striking the driver’s side of the police car, the spokesman stated.
The officers started a chase but ended It near the state line, the spokesman stated.
Kansas City, Missouri, officers picked up the pursuit until the vehicle came back into Kansas City, Kansas, when their helicopter continued to follow it, the spokesman stated.
Eventually the vehicle drove the wrong way on I-635 and then to I-70, where it struck another vehicle head-on near 57th Street, the police spokesman stated.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody and the passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, the spokesman stated. The driver of the uninvolved vehicle struck by the fleeing suspect sustained minor injuries, according to the spokesman.
The Kansas Highway Patrol will investigate the accident and the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department will handle the criminal investigation relating to the events leading to the pursuit, the spokesman stated.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.