Kansas City police chase ends with car crashing into tree, injuring two
A police chase ended in a car crash that injured at least two people Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City, with at least one person sustaining serious injuries.
Officers in the metro patrol division of the Kansas City Police Department tried to pull over a maroon Dodge Avenger near East 58th and Olive streets around 2:45 p.m., according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a KCPD spokesperson.
The officer was trying to stop the car because the driver had committed a traffic violation, Gonzalez said, but the driver of the Dodge drove away northbound on Olive Street.
Officers pursued the Dodge in a high-speed chase for about 0.4 miles until the car ran off the roadway and hit a tree in front of 5430 Olive St., Gonzalez said. The driver of the Dodge was seriously injured in the crash, Gonzalez said; a rider in the front passenger seat suffered lesser injuries.
Both the driver and passenger were taken to a hospital, where the driver’s injuries were initially assessed as life-threatening, Gonzalez said. Both are now in stable condition.
Neither rider was wearing a seat belt during the chase and crash, according to Gonzalez.
Police chases around the Kansas City metropolitan area frequently start with attempted traffic stops and end in injury or death, a nine-month investigation by The Star found last year. Between 2019 and 2024, more than 320 people were injured as a result of police chases, the investigation found.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 9:25 PM.
