Police chase in Kansas City involving stolen truck leaves one person dead
One driver is dead after being struck by a vehicle that was fleeing from police on New Year's Eve.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, Independence police officers were pursuing a gray Ford F-250 for multiple traffic violations around 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Sheffield neighborhood.
The suspect, who was traveling west on 9th Street, approaching Benton Boulevard, failed to stop for a red traffic signal and collided with a blue pickup truck traveling south on Benton Boulevard, police said in a news release.
The suspect then collided with a silver Nissan Cube that was stopped at the traffic signal facing east, according to police. The driver of the Nissan Cube was pronounced dead on the morning of Jan. 1.
After hitting the Nissan Cube, the suspect allegedly continued driving and struck a parked RV on private property, immobilizing the Ford F-250. The driver fled the scene on foot. It was later determined that the Ford F-250 had been reported stolen.
The driver of the blue pickup truck sustained minor injuries. The police reported that alongside the deceased driver, there were two other people in the Nissan Cube who were transported to a local hospital for critical injuries.
The police department said that no arrests have been made in the case, but said that the investigation remains ongoing. This marks the first traffic fatality of 2026 in the area, compared to none at this time last year, according to KCPD.
A 2024 Kansas City Star investigation found that Independence police chase more than any other police force in the area, including KCPD.
The study also found that in 2022, over 1,200 police chases took place in the Kansas City metro, resulting in over 150 crashes and 51 injuries. Independence accounted for 33% of those injuries.
