KCK high school student identified as victim of Thursday SUV crash
A Kansas City, Kan., teenager who died in a crash Thursday involving three other juvenile victims has been identified.
Angelo Gage DePeralta, 14, was one of the four young people inside an SUV that skidded into a parked dump truck, hit a guardrail and rolled over on 40th Street near Wyandotte Avenue around 9:30 a.m.
Kansas City, Kan., police said one of the male victims, later identified as DePeralta, was thrown from the SUV due to the collision. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Erica Hernandez said Angelo was her 14-year-old nephew and a student at J.C. Harmon High School. Hernandez joined grieving family members Thursday night as they held a candlelight vigil at Emerson Park in memory of the teen.
She created a GoFundMe page after the deadly wreck to help cover funeral expenses. As of Friday, the online fundraising page has raised more than $1,300.
“Our baby boy was taken way to early from us. His Smile.. His Laugh!! We are going to miss you!” a statement said on the GoFundMe page. “We ask family and friends to help us during this difficult time. We appreciate anything.. it will all help!”
Three other juvenile victims also inside the SUV at the time of the crash had minor injuries, police said.
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.
The crash remained under investigation by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Traffic Support Unit/Critical Collision Response Team. Anyone with information is asked call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 3:16 PM.
