2 killed after wrong-way driver crashes into oncoming traffic on I-49 in Harrisonville
Southbound Interstate 49 is closed north of Harrisonville after a wrong-way driver crashed head-on into another vehicle, killing both drivers, a spokesman with the Missouri Highway Patrol said.
The highway is expected to remain closed from Missouri Route J highway in Peculiar to the Missouri 291 highway exit affecting the early part of the evening rush hour in the Kansas City area.
The crash occurred about 1:30 p.m. near the Missouri 291 and I-49 interchange, said Sgt. Andy Bell, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol.
A maroon SUV traveling from Missouri 291 took the wrong ramp and headed north in the southbound lanes of I-49 and collided head-on with a silver SUV.
“The two drivers were killed on impact,” Bell said. A third vehicle was damaged in the collision, but that driver was not injured.
The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation, he said.
“We can’t rule anything out yet,” Bell said.
About five years ago, the interchange was converted to a diverging diamond interchange, a design that’s increases safety by briefly crisscrossing drivers to the left side of the road, eliminating the left turn against oncoming traffic and limiting the number of traffic signal phases.
While their use are becoming more common in the Kansas City area, Bell said he occasionally sees a few drivers get confused. It’s unknown if that is what happened in this case.
