Blind mother of 5 identified as Kansas City woman killed by truck in hit-and-run
A mother to five children was struck and killed by a truck last week in Kansas City as she left a grocery store, family and police said. The woman, 36-year-old Latoya D. Griffin, was also blind, loved ones said.
Just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday, police were called to the area of Winner Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard on a pedestrian hit-and-run crash, according to a report from the Kansas City Police Department.
The driver of a black Dodge Ram 1500 was heading west on Winner Road “at a very high rate of speed,” police said, when the driver struck two other vehicles. The impact of the three-vehicle crash pushed the Dodge truck off the road.
The driver of the truck swerved right of the street and into the parking lot of Inner City Liquor and Grocery where the vehicle struck a woman, identified by police Monday as Griffin, as she was leaving the store.
After also hitting a parked vehicle in the lot, the driver fled down Winner Road.
Two citizens also took off, following the truck and letting police know where it was headed, according to the report. The driver was taken into custody shortly after.
Griffin was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her family could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
A GoFundMe was created Sunday by Griffin’s loved ones to help cover the expenses of her funeral.
“Latoya Griffin’s life was cut short tragically,” the fundraising page reads. “The family is devastated by her tragic passing and struggles to find the funds to cover the funeral expenses.”
As of Monday, it had raised a little more than $2,000 of its $25,000 goal.
This is the 32nd fatal traffic crash this year in Kansas City, according to police.
