Driver injured in five-vehicle crash that closed part of 71 Highway in Kansas City
One person was injured Wednesday morning in a crash that involved a semi-truck and trailer and four other vehicles on a Kansas City highway, according to police.
Officers responded to the five-vehicle collision around 7:30 a.m. near northbound 71 Highway and 18th Street, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
The crash closed all lanes of northbound 71 Highway past 22nd Street for about three hours, he said.
A tan Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling northbound on 71 Highway when the driver changed lanes suddenly and braked in front a Freightliner semi-truck and trailer, Becchina said.
The semi-truck driver swerved left to avoid hitting the Chevrolet, but struck a white Dodge Journey. The collision forced the Dodge into the concrete median, where it overturned and became lodged between the semi and the median, Becchina said.
Then the semi hit the Chevrolet and a northbound Nissan Frontier pickup truck, causing the Nissan to hit the median and overturn, he said.
Items in the bed of the Frontier flew out and struck the back of a northbound black Volkswagen Jetta, Becchina said.
The driver of the Dodge was taken to the hospital in critical condition, he said. Drivers of the Volkswagen and the semi-truck were uninjured, and the driver of the Frontier was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The Chevrolet driver refused medical treatment at the scene.
An investigation is ongoing.
