Kearney teens killed after Iowa deputy engaged in wrong-way chase. Did it violate policy?
When a Fremont County, Iowa, Sheriff’s deputy followed a suspect vehicle into oncoming traffic in the wrong lane of Interstate 29 Sunday, crossing over the state line into Missouri where a fatal crash ensued, he did not violate the agency’s chase policy, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
The chase, which began in Iowa and ended in a fatal wrong-way crash on Interstate 29 just one mile into Missouri, fit within the agency’s pursuit policy, said spokesman Sgt. Andrew Wake.
Two Kearney High School graduates and the suspect died in the crash. Another Kearney teen was seriously injured, and the deputy received minor injuries. A 1-year-old child was rescued from the suspect vehicle and flown to a Nebraska hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Iowa State Patrol troopers knew within two minutes of the crash that at least three people had been killed.
Seconds after troopers terminated the chase near the state line, they could be heard on radio traffic reporting a car bursting into flames.
“Vehicle is on fire, vehicle is on fire. Get fire, EMS and life flight en route,” troopers can be heard saying on radio traffic from the Iowa State Patrol captured by Broadcastify.com.
The troopers could be heard saying a Fremont County deputy was hit by a semi-truck.
“Deputy is OK, this is going to be a (fatality). Let Missouri know,” Iowa troopers told dispatch.
Troopers then read the plate number of a Ford Focus driven by a Kearney 18-year-old.
“Driver of that vehicle is a (fatality). There is another (fatality) as well in the car. We have three total at least.”
In a statement Tuesday, a Kearney, Missouri family identified the two teens killed in the crash as Lucy Yeates and Kole Cunningham. Aubrey Yeates, Lucy’s twin sister, is being treated for “multiple traumatic injuries” at a Nebraska hospital, according to the Yeates family.
The teens were on their way to Omaha to see Billie Eilish in concert when they were hit by the wrong-way driver.
“This incredibly senseless and tragic event has left our families with a hole that will never be filled,” the Yeates family said in a statement. “We thank our friends, family and community for their support, love and prayers as we come together to help Aubrey recover from this horrific experience.
Police chases harming innocent bystanders
Despite saying the pursuit did not violate agency policies, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office has so far refused to provide The Star with its policy on chases. Wake said the department would not be able to provide those records until Sheriff Kevin Aistrope returns next week from out of town.
Wake said pursuing a suspect across state lines requires supervisor approval, and that they also reach out to agencies in the area where the pursuit is headed.
A dispatcher could be heard on radio traffic notifying troopers that they were contacting the Missouri State Highway Patrol as the pursuit approached the state line. But MSHP didn’t have anyone immediately nearby, the dispatcher said.
Each case is different, Wake said, and deputies consider several different factors to determine whether to pursue across state lines.
“In this particular situation, this guy drove approximately 11 miles on the interstate in the wrong direction in oncoming traffic,” Wake said. “Even if we would have all stopped at the (state line)... he had several chances to stop or move over to the right lanes and he didn’t.”
Wake said the deputy continued to chase the suspect in the wrong lane of traffic with the interest of public safety in mind.
But Iowa’s state police agency has a policy against that kind of pursuit.
Trooper Ryan DeVault, a spokesman for Iowa State Patrol’s District 3, said their troopers were involved in the pursuit for about ten miles. After the man began driving on the wrong side of the highway, troopers disengaged and paralleled the vehicle in the southbound lanes, as Iowa State Patrol policy does not allow for pursuing in the wrong direction of traffic, DeVault said.
In a nine-month investigation published earlier this year, The Star found that police pursuits have led to innocent bystanders being killed in the Kansas City metro. In 2022, more than 1,200 police chases took place in the Kansas City metro, resulting in over 150 crashes and 51 injuries.
According to a report by the Police Executive Research Forum, 70% of police departments placed narrow restrictions on when a chase is warranted. In the Kansas City metro, the rate is about 56%.
Pursuit began after reported kidnapping
The pursuit that ended in Sunday’s fatal crash began when the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office received a domestic assault report from a woman at a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa, around 6:15 a.m. Sunday, Sheriff Aistrope said in a news release.
The woman reported she and her 1-year-old child had been kidnapped in Nebraska by a male acquaintance — who she said was suicidal and homicidal — who fled local law enforcement into Iowa, according to the release. The man reportedly dropped the woman off at the hospital and fled with the child in a 2023 Kia Sorento.
Fremont County deputies and Iowa State Patrol troopers both pursued the vehicle, which law enforcement said got onto Interstate 29 going southbound in the northbound lanes.
“In this situation, where the vehicle was in the opposite lanes of traffic, it was still a dangerous situation and we couldn’t just stop at the state line and let him continue by himself in those lanes,” Wake said.
Shortly after crossing the state line into Missouri, around mile marker 123, the Sorento allegedly crashed into a 2013 Ford Focus driving northbound while passing a 2024 Volvo semi-truck, Aistrope said. The semi then allegedly swerved to avoid the crash and struck a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe patrol vehicle driven by the Fremont County deputy, according to the Fremont County sheriff’s release.
The Sorento burst into flames on the Nishnabotna River Bridge, and a different Fremont deputy reportedly rescued the 1-year-old child from the burning vehicle, Aistrope said. The child was flown to a Nebraska hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Kole Cunningham was driving the Ford Focus with Lucy and Aubrey Yeates as passengers. Lucy and Kole were pronounced dead at the scene, and Aubrey was flown to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment.
The driver of the Sorento that law enforcement was pursuing was also declared dead at the scene. The suspect has not yet been identified by police.
The semi’s driver, a 30-year-old from Ontario, Canada, was not injured.
The Fremont County deputy involved in the pursuit was treated and released from a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa.
Aubrey, Lucy and Kole all graduated from Kearney High School in 2023. Both Aubrey and Lucy were in their first year of college, where Lucy had been interested in pursuing a career in business.
Kole Cunningham was also an identical twin, according to relatives. He played youth sports in Kearney growing up and was passionate about music, friends and relatives shared online.
The Yeates family said Tuesday that they are seeking privacy as they continue to grieve. The family created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with the costs of Aubrey’s recovery, which has raised more than $15,000 from over 430 donors.
“Aubrey is a dynamic young lady who is also attending college,” the Yeates family shared in Tuesday’s statement. “While this unexpected journey is sidetracking her, we look forward to supporting her every day as she heals.”
Reporting by The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton, Nathan Pilling, Ilana Arougheti, Katie Moore and Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 4:27 PM.
