Why did Independence cops start chase that killed bystander? So far, no details
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Independence police initiated chase over traffic charges; truck later found stolen.
- The fleeing stolen-truck ran red, struck a stopped Nissan Cube; one bystander died.
- Star investigations showed Independence police chase more than other agencies
Nearly two days after a car chase started by Independence police left an innocent bystander dead in Kansas City, officials did not answer questions about why officers started the pursuit in the first place.
The chase, which began Wednesday evening near Blue Ridge Boulevard and Wilson Road in Independence and led to a fatal crash four miles west at East Ninth Street and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, started when officers chased a truck because of “traffic charges,” said Officer Bryan Conley, a spokesman for the Independence Police Department, in an email to The Star.
But Conley did not respond to questions Friday about what those traffic charges were, only saying the chase fit within department policy and placing responsibility on the driver of the fleeing truck.
“A tragic and sad situation caused by the suspect (sic) selfish actions,” he wrote.
The driver who police were chasing ran following the crash and is still being sought, Captain Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email Friday.
The person killed in the crash, the driver of a Nissan Cube that was not involved in the chase and was struck while stopped at a traffic light, has not been publicly identified by police. Two passengers in the Cube were also taken to a hospital with critical injuries.
The matter remains under investigation, police said.
Independence police chase
After police began pursuing the truck about 8:15 p.m., the chase approached Benton Boulevard and the truck ran a red light, according to police.
The fleeing truck hit another truck and a Nissan Cube that was stopped at the light, according to a crash narrative released by Kansas City police. The fleeing truck continued on, hit a parked RV and became immobilized.
Three people in the Cube were taken to a hospital with critical injuries, and the driver later died, police said. The driver of the second truck that was hit suffered minor injuries.
Police later determined the truck the Independence officers were chasing was stolen, according to the Kansas City police narrative.
Said Conley, the Independence police spokesman: “It was determined the suspect fled from officers bc (sic) the truck was stolen. As with most pursuits, the suspect flees for more than just the traffic charge and other, more serious offenses are in play. In this case, the stolen vehicle.”
A 2024 investigation by The Star found that officers with the Independence Police Department chased vehicles more than any other department in the area, including the Kansas City Police Department, and that Independence maintained policies that were liberal in permitting chases for virtually any offense, no matter how minor.
That investigation identified six innocent bystander deaths connected to Independence chases in six years.
Similar crashes cross city limits
Wednesday’s crash mirrors the circumstances of two other crashes in recent memory in which bystanders were killed as Independence police chased vehicles into Kansas City.
In June 2018, three bystanders in a vehicle died after they were hit by a stolen vehicle that was fleeing Independence officers. The stolen vehicle sped away from police and crashed into a car in Kansas City a few minutes into the chase, and between the two vehicles, four people were killed. Others were injured.
The fleeing driver, Victoria Brown, eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Four years earlier, in 2014, an Independence officer pursued a vehicle that reached 100 mph as it crossed into Kansas City. The officer ended his pursuit, but the vehicle continued on, ran a red light about four blocks further on, and crashed into another vehicle and killed its driver. Others in the vehicle that was struck were injured.
The fleeing driver, Andrew Stark, was handed a 15-year prison sentence for second-degree murder and assault.
After the survivors and family members sued, the city of Independence paid $600,000 to the widow of the driver who was killed and $167,500 to the passengers, according to city records.
