Northbound I-29 temporarily closed after pedestrian struck and killed near Barry Road

Update: Police on Wednesday identified the victim as Malik Sanders, 30, of Kansas City

A pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle early Tuesday along northbound Interstate 29 in Kansas City, North, according to police.

The fatal crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. near Northwest Barry Road.

The pedestrian was trying to cross the highway. A Volvo XC90 that was head north in the left lane struck and killed the pedestrian, who was a 30-year-old Kansas City man, police said.

The driver of the Volvo remained at the scene of the crash. When the driver stopped, a Ford passenger vehicle rear-ended the Volvo. No one was injured in that crash. Police released the driver of the Volvo pending further investigation.

Police closed the northbound lanes of the highway at Northwest 72nd Street, causing rush hour traffic to back up for miles.

Kansas City International Airport alerted travelers on Twitter that the highway was closed. Travelers headed to the airport were being urged to find alternate routes to make it to the airport on time for their flights.

One lane of the highway reopened shortly before 8 a.m. Traffic through the area, however, remained slow as police continued to collect evidence from the scene. All lanes of the highway reopened about 8:20 a.m.

That stretch of highway has been a problem area.

Because of a high number of crashes, including pedestrian deaths, law enforcement officers from the Missouri Highway Patrol, the Kansas City Police Department and the Platte County Sheriff’s Office conducted a special traffic enforcement effort targeting unsafe driving last year.

The goal was to reduce the number of crashes in the area. Between March 2017 and March 2018, there were 263 crashes, which made it the highest crash location in the Kansas City Police Department’s North Patrol Division.

This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 8:20 AM.