Kansas City man charged with murder in fatal hit-and-run crash from February
A man has been charged with murder in connection to a hit-and-run crash that left two people dead earlier this year in Kansas City.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday that Michael P. Mertens, 27, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder after Judith R. Morris and Virgil M. Dixon, both 55, were killed in a hit-and-run crash.
Mertens is also charged with leaving the scene of an accident, receiving stolen property, drug possession and driving while revoked.
The crash happened before 9:15 a.m. Feb. 4 at 18th Street and Brooklyn Avenue.
According to charging documents, a Kansas City police sergeant who was in the area saw a Honda Pilot speeding on 18th Street and then noticed a cloud of smoke. Heading toward the smoke, the sergeant saw the wrecked SUV and a man running from the scene.
The sergeant caught up with the man, later identified as Mertens, and took him into custody.
The driver of another vehicle told police she started following the Honda SUV after realizing it was her mother’s vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Independence on Jan. 28, according to court records. She said she followed the Honda for about 10 minutes before she noticed the driver accelerating at a high rate of speed and disregarding traffic signs and signals.
As the Honda traveled east on 18th Street, she said, it blew past a stop sign and appeared to be going 70 to 80 mph when it struck another vehicle.
Court records say the Honda crashed into a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The initial impact caused the Monte Carlo to strike a Ford Fusion, which was stopped at the intersection.
The occupants of the Monte Carlo, Morris and Dixon, were pronounced dead at the scene.
After he was apprehended, Mertens told police he had dropped off his grandmother at a laundromat when he noticed a vehicle following him. He stated that an unknown person from the vehicle shot at him during the chase.
The driver who followed Mertens stated she didn’t have any weapons and denied making any threatening moves toward the suspect.
As police searched Mertens as he was being arrested, they reported finding “an off white granular substance” which tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, three separate credit cards belonging to three different people and a toy gun.
Court records say a search warrant would be executed for Mertens’ DNA and blood for further investigation.
Public records in the Jackson County case do not yet list an attorney for Mertens, who has remained in the Clay County jail in a separate case.
