Robert A. Cronkleton – The Kansas City Star
Three people died, and several others, including four children, were seriously injured in a crash after a stolen crossover SUV sped away from a traffic stop and crashed into another SUV, a Kansas City police spokesman said Wednesday morning.
Firefighters and police responded shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday to the two-vehicle crash at East 35th Street and Norton Avenue in the Palestine East neighborhood, said Capt. Jake Becchina with the Kansas City Police Department.
There, they found a blue Kia Soul, which had eight people inside, had collided with a white Chevrolet Tahoe.
The 16-year-old driver and a 37-year-old front-seat passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, Becchina said. Another passenger was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Five other passengers were also inside the Kia at the time of the crash — a 20-year-old man with a 4-year-old child sitting on his lap, a 6-year-old child and a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old who were in the rear cargo area without seats. Becchina said all of them were seriously injured and were taken to hospitals, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
The driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe was also injured and was taken to a hospital. The driver’s injuries were not life-threatening.
A preliminary investigation revealed that shortly before the crash, an officer stopped the Kia Soul for a traffic violation a little more than a half mile away at East 31st Street and Cleveland Avenue. After the officer exited his police vehicle, the driver in the Kia sped away. Becchina said the officer did not follow. The Kia Soul was reported as a stolen vehicle, police said, taken on Aug. 2.
The crash occurred as the Kia Soul headed east on 35th Street at high speeds and started to overtake the Chevrolet Tahoe, which was also headed east.
As the Chevrolet Tahoe approached Norton Avenue, the driver slowed to make a left turn to head north. The driver of the Kia pulled into the westbound lanes to pass the Chevrolet Tahoe on the left just as the Chevrolet Tahoe started to turn, Becchina said. The vehicles collided in the westbound lanes.
The collision spun the Chevrolet Tahoe around. The Kia Soul crashed into a large wooden utility pole and flipped onto its roof.
The deaths are the city’s 57th, 58th and 59th traffic fatalities of the year, Becchina said. That compares to 56 traffic deaths reported at this time last year.
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