Driver killed, truck bursts into flames after crash on Interstate 435

A person died Thursday evening in a fiery crash in Kansas City’s Northland, according to police.

A gray Toyota RAV4 was traveling eastbound on Interstate 435, near Northwest Cookingham Drive around 6;30 p.m. when it ran off the roadway, according to the release from Kansas City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Phillip DiMartino..

The RAV4 traveled through a grassy median before crashing into a blue Peterbilt semitractor-trailer traveling westbound on Interstate 435.

The driver of the RAV4, who was unrestrained, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the press release.

The crash “ruptured the fuel tanks of the truck, causing the truck and trailer to become fully engulfed in flames,” according to the press release. The driver of the Peterbilt truck was uninjured.

The death marks the 36th traffic fatality in Kansas City in 2025, compared to 48 traffic fatalities at this time last year.

All I-435 westbound lanes remain closed in the area of Northwest Cookingham Drive and U.S. Route 169, according to the press release.