Driver killed in Kansas City after speeding car crashes into tree and catches fire

Update: Police said the driver was identified as 31-year-old Dominque Harlin.

A speeding motorist in Kansas City was killed early Thursday in a one-car wreck at 39th Street and Indiana Avenue, according to police.

Officers responded to the crash just before 5 a.m. Emergency crews arrived and confirmed the driver was dead.

The name and age of the victim has not been released.

According initial police reports, a Ford Mustang was westbound at a high rate of speed on East 39th Street. The car left the road and went airborne. It landed, crashed into a tree on the left side of the road and caught on fire.

No other details were released. The crash remains under investigation, police said in a news release.

This is the 72nd vehicular fatality reported in 2020 in Kansas City. There were 53 fatalities reported during the same period a year ago, police said.

This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 10:17 AM.