One young person killed, one injured after SUV hits city work truck in KCK
A traffic wreck Thursday in Kansas City, Kan., left one young person dead and one injured near 40th Street and Wyandotte Avenue, according to police.
Four juveniles were in an SUV that was traveling north on 40th Street at high speed before skidding into a parked dump truck, police said. Police Chief Terry Zeigler announced shortly after 10 a.m. that police were on the scene of the crash.
The SUV left skid marks on the road beginning about 50 yards from the point of impact. Police said they think the SUV first hit the truck, then struck a guardrail and rolled over.
Police said they think the youth who died was ejected when the SUV hit the guardrail. A female youth in the SUV was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Two other occupants did not need medical attention.
Speed appeared to be a factor in the crash, and seat belts were not used by occupants of the SUV, said Officer Tom Tomasic, a Kansas City, Kan., police spokesman.
Tomasic said police try to get the message out to motorists, especially young drivers, that they can drive more safely. “The hardest thing is that it is as simple as slowing down and putting your seat belt on,” he said.
Police said the dump truck was a Unified Government work vehicle. It was parked and unoccupied at the time of the wreck.
A team of workers who were around the corner did not see the crash but came running after they heard the impact. A Unified Government manager said the workers were “pretty shaken up.”
They were taken back to their shop, the manager said, and counseling will be made available to them.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 10:47 AM.
