Man being pursued by KC police strikes car at red light, injuring woman, child
A man suspected in an aggravated assault was being pursued by Kansas City police Wednesday evening when he caused a car crash that seriously injured a woman and a 2-year-old girl, police said.
Police were called about 6 p.m. to the 5100 block of Hedges Avenue to investigate a disturbance involving a man who was “reported to be armed and possibly intentionally striking vehicles in the area,” the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement.
Callers reported to police that a person in a vehicle was trying to assault a woman and had struck several vehicles. The woman, who sustained minor injuries, told police the man was trying to hit her with his vehicle and struck some parked vehicles in the process.
Police say officers located the suspect vehicle driven by a man in the area of 53rd Street and Hardy. They tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the vehicle took off, police said.
Police said the officers began pursuing the vehicle, believing the driver was “involved in an aggravated assault with a weapon and posed a serious danger to the public.”
Sgt. Bill Mahoney, an accident investigation supervisor with the Kansas City Police Department, said the suspect vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe, struck a BMW car during the chase. The SUV slammed into the back of the car, which was sitting at a red light on northbound Raytown Road at 47th Street.
The suspect vehicle knocked down two poles and spun around, coming to a stop in the northbound lanes.
The car was pushed through the intersection and ended up partially on the other side of the street.
A 39-year-old Raytown woman who was driving the car was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The 2-year-old girl, who was in a child seat, was in serious but stable condition.
The man in the SUV was also taken to a hospital, and was said to be in stable condition. Mahoney said police were checking for possible signs of impairment.
Police said a third vehicle was also struck in the collision, and the driver was not reported to be injured.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 9:42 PM.
