Person killed after being partly ejected through SUV’s sunroof in crash on Ward Parkway
One person was killed after being partly ejected through the sunroof of an SUV in a rollover crash on Ward Parkway in Kansas City Sunday evening, a police spokeswoman said.
Police were looking for another person who was in the SUV at the time of the crash but ran from the scene of the wreck, said Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Police identified the person killed in the crash as 42-year-old Cory Walter. Police did not know if he was the driver or passenger at the time of the crash, which occurred about 9:15 p.m. at 63rd Terrace and Ward Parkway.
The crash occurred as a black Chevrolet Equinox was headed west on 63rd Terrace. The driver of the Equinox failed to stop at the intersection and was struck by a gray Toyota Camry that was headed south on Ward Parkway. The Equinox overturned and Walter was partially ejected. Emergency medical crews declared him dead at the scene.
Two people inside the Toyota were uninjured.
The fatality is the city’s 38th traffic fatality of the year. At this time last year, the city had 22 traffic fatalities.
On Sunday, the driver of a black Chevrolet Suburban was killed after rear-ending a white Ford church van that was stopped at a red light at Bannister Road and Interstate 435.
The crash occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m. as the Suburban was headed west on Bannister at high speeds. After striking the church van, the Suburban hit the concrete median barrier and a light pole. It slid across all lanes of westbound Bannister before coming to rest against the guardrail.
The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the church van, who was the only one inside, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police have attributed the jump in fatal crashes to a number of factors including an increase of aggressive driving and impaired drivers. People are also well above the speed limits, something that began during the pandemic and hasn’t slowed.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 9:58 AM.
