Charges filed after police chase ends in head-on crash and fire injuring five in KC

A Sunday night police chase that hit nearly 90 mph and ended in a head-on collision and fire has brought a felony charge against a Kansas City man.

Dennis J. Mead III, 18, was charged in Jackson County Monday with resisting a lawful stop and creating a substantial risk of serious injury or death after fleeing Independence police in a stolen SUV.

Five people were injured, some of them seriously, in the crash about 8:20 p.m. Sunday when, police said, the SUV driven by Mead crossed the center line on Blue Parkway near Bellaire Avenue in east Kansas City and hit a pickup truck head-on, causing it to catch fire.

A woman in the SUV with Mead was ejected in the crash, police said. Three people in the pickup truck were hurt. The injuries, though serious, were not considered life-threatening.

According to a detective’s statement accompanying the charge, an Independence police officer was doing extra patrolling near the Sports Stadium Motel on East U.S. 40 Highway east of Blue Ridge Cutoff when a silver Ford SUV in the lot peeled away.

Three people had been standing by the SUV in the lot, and Mead hit one of them, police said. The pedestrian’s injuries were minor.

The officer chased the SUV, which hit at least 86 mph and ran through the red light on U.S. 40 at Blue Ridge Cutoff. The SUV continued to speed and run through several traffic lights.

Radio traffic Sunday night indicated the chase went through south Kansas City, east on 63rd Street at one point, before the SUV headed northwest at Blue Parkway until it ended in the crash.

A records check showed the SUV had been reported stolen.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office requested a bond of $150,000 for Mead.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Charges filed after police chase ends in head-on crash and fire injuring five in KC."