Stolen semi truck leads police chase from KC to Boonville, catches fire, meth found

A man in a stolen tractor-truck led police on a high-speed chase from Kansas City to Boonville, Mo., Saturday before the truck caught fire and the driver, running away, became caught in a barbed-wire fence, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Highway patrol troopers arrested the man after the chase, which ran across several counties. A highway patrol helicopter helped track the fleeing truck. Boonville is about 100 miles east of Kansas City.

Kansas City police started chasing the truck shortly after 9 p.m., following it westbound from 31st Street and Arlington Avenue.

Authorities suspected the fleeing driver had been involved in a shooting. The truck was reported stolen in Oak Grove.

The pursuit continued east on Interstate 70 into Lafayette County, where deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office asked the highway patrol to take over the chase.

The fleeing truck reached speeds up to 73 mph and raced over tire deflation devices placed on the highway. A patrol helicopter joined the pursuit when the chase ran into Cooper County.

The pursuit ended when the stolen truck caught fire near Boonville.

The driver jumped from the truck and ran. The patrol helicopter directed officers to the where man ran into a barbed wire fence, just north of I-70.

Authorities found a baggie containing what they suspected was methamphetamine, according to the highway patrol.