Driver injured after Independence police chase ends in crash Tuesday morning
An Independence police chase ended in injury Tuesday when a speeding driver crashed an SUV into another car while fleeing police, the latest in a series of officer-involved crashes in the city.
Tuesday morning’s crash resulted from a failed traffic stop on the westbound lanes of Interstate 70. Independence officers tried to pull over the driver of a 2010 Ford Edge going upward of 100 mph, according to Officer Kelley Rupert, an Independence police spokesman. The SUV was later determined to be stolen.
The driver did not stop when prompted, instead exiting onto westbound U.S. 40, Rupert said. The Independence officer pursued the driver until he cut across traffic and started driving the wrong way on the shoulder of the highway.
After the Ford Edge started heading east on the westbound shoulder, it crashed into another car pulling onto the highway from Hardy Avenue. The other driver was hospitalized with minor injuries, while the driver of the Edge fled the scene and has not been arrested.
Tuesday’s crash is the latest chase initiated by Independence police that started with traffic stops and ended in injury or death. The department is responsible for the majority of the police chases recorded in the Kansas City metro, The Star reported in March.
In 2022 — the most recent full year of available data — 33% of police chases resulting in injuries in the Kansas City metro were initiated by Independence police. In the past eight years, six people have died in Independence police chases.
Police chases across the Kansas City area routinely take place above 100 mph, the Star investigation found. More than 320 people have been injured in police chases in the metro area in the last 5 years.
The Independence Police Department’s chase policy is less restrictive than those of most area peers, though similar rules exist in Gladstone, Raytown and Olathe. The Kansas City Police Department, for one, only engages in chases related to a violent felony or similar threat to public safety.
Since the beginning of the year, 953 traffic accidents have taken place in Independence Police jurisdiction, according to state data.
