One dead, two injured after vehicle hits tree in Lee's Summit

One person died and two others were seriously injured after a silver convertible struck a tree in east Lee's Summit early Wednesday, police say.

Lee's Summit police were investigating the one-vehicle crash at Southeast Shenandoah Drive and Southeast Kimbrough Lane. Police say the driver and the passengers were men in their 20s.

Lee's Summit Sgt. Chris Depue, a police spokesman, said the car was headed east on Shenandoah Drive when the driver lost control at around 3 a.m. Wednesday. Police said the car spun sideways, went off the road, struck a fire hydrant and hit a tree near a subdivision. The driver and a passenger in the front seat were thrown from the car.

Police said the front seat passenger died.

"Speed and alcohol" appeared to be possible factors leading to the crash, police said.

"Anytime we find empty alcohol containers and things like that, that leads us to believe that alcohol played a role," Depue said. "Plus the time, 3 o’clock in the morning, and the speed. All those factors kind of combine to bring that suspicion of alcohol."

Police have not yet released the identity of the men.

The driver and a passenger sitting in the back seat were taken to a hospital in critical condition.

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 7:53 AM with the headline "One dead, two injured after vehicle hits tree in Lee's Summit."