Former KCPD officer faces charges in fatal October van wreck before Chiefs game
A former Kansas City police officer has been charged months after he was involved in a crash that killed a teen and injured two other people on Interstate 435, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday in a news release.
The officer, identified as 34-year-old Terrell E. Watkins, is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault and a misdemeanor count of careless and imprudent driving.
According to court records, Watkins was driving a Kansas City Police Department Ford E350 van on Interstate 435 when he slammed into the back of a Mitsubishi Lancer that was caught up in traffic outside the Truman Sports Complex at the Stadium Drive exit off I-435. The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2018, hours before a Kansas City Chiefs game at the stadium.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, 17-year-old Chandan Rajanna, was killed as a result of the crash. Two passengers, the teen’s father and sister, were seriously injured.
Watkins sustained injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
Witnesses told detectives that around the time of the crash, the police van was seen speeding on the interstate and making numerous lane changes as it passed other vehicles, court records said.
At the time, Watkins was employed as an off-duty security officer for the Kansas City Chiefs and was due to report to work at 4 p.m. that day.
Data collected from the police van’s airbag control module reportedly showed that the van was traveling 76 mph less than a second before striking the back the Rajanna’s car. The crash caused a chain reaction that also impacted two other vehicles.
Phone records obtained by detectives through a search warrant showed Watkins’ cellphone was actively being used moments before the crash was reported to police dispatch, court records said.
According to a statement Kansas City police gave Friday, Watkins resigned on June 20 after working at the police department for seven years. Following the crash last year, the officer had been placed on administrative assignment.
The Kansas City Police Department Accident Investigation Unit investigated the crash with help from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, it said.
“The charges filed today against a former Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department officer represent a painstakingly thorough investigation into the tragic crash last October that took the life of a 17-year-old young man and injured his family members,” the police department’s statement said.
According to court records, Watkins was issued a summons Friday. An arraignment in the case is scheduled Aug. 7.
Three lawsuits filed by the teen’s family last November accused Watkins of negligence, driving too fast, failing to watch the road properly, following too closely and failing to brake in time to avoid hitting the family’s car. Those lawsuits remain pending in Jackson County Circuit Court.
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 4:01 PM.
