Former KCPD officer sentenced for causing deadly I-435 collision prior to Chiefs game
A former Kansas City police officer who caused a crash that killed a teenager and injured two others in 2018 near Arrowhead Stadium before a Chiefs game will serve four months in jail as part of a plea agreement.
Terrell E. Watkins, 35, pleaded guilty in early June in Jackson County Circuit Court to first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault and a misdemeanor count of careless and imprudent driving.
Watkins was sentenced to 17 years on the involuntary manslaughter and assault convictions but Circuit Court Judge Byran E. Round on Tuesday suspended the execution of that sentence and ordered Watkins to serve 120 days in the Caldwell County Jail for the count of careless and imprudent driving. Watkins was ordered to report to jail Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Watkins was speeding in a police van Oct. 21, 2018, when he slammed into the back of a Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Chandan Rajanna that was caught up in heavy pregame traffic outside the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex at the Stadium Drive exit off of Interstate 435.
Rajanna, 17, was a Shawnee Mission South senior who planned on attending the University of Kansas. His father and sister were seriously injured. Watkins also was injured.
Watkins was late to an off-duty, on-field security assignment at a Kansas City Chiefs game when the crash occurred.
Authorities said Watkins was driving 76 mph and was operating his cell phone while speeding along I-435. Watkins had just sent a text message on his cell phone moments before the fatal crash, according to court records.
Watkins did not speak during the 20-minute hearing Tuesday. His attorney, Jerry Merrill, said that his client was remorseful about causing the wreck and relives the events of that day each day. Becoming a police officer was a dream job for Watkins.
Assigned to the Police Athletic League, Watkins mentored to youth, Merrill said. Family and friends gathered around Watkins after he left the courthouse. He and Merrill declined to comment after the hearing.
Assistant Jackson County prosecutor Dion Sankar said the victims and their immediate family supported the plea agreement. Watkins will be placed on a three-year probation after completing the 120-day sentence. No other restrictions or mandates were imposed during the hearing.
A statement from Rajanna’s father was read at the hearing. Krishna Rajanna, who suffered numerous fractures in the crash, wrote that he continues to have health challenges, including limited use of one of his arms and legs. He also wrote that he raised Chandan as a single parent and that his son frequently accompanied him and served as “eyes and ears.”
Chandan Rajanna and a high school classmate organized a current affairs club where they discussed issues such as climate change and racial injustice. Rajanna had also traveled to Iceland.
The crash happened several hours before the Chiefs were scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals. About the time of the wreck, the police van, driven by Watkins, sped along the interstate and made numerous lane changes as it passed other vehicles, according to witnesses.
Data collected from the van’s airbag control module showed the van was traveling 76 mph less than a second before striking the back of Rajanna’s car, prosecutors said. The crash caused a chain reaction that affected two other vehicles.
Several witnesses reported seeing the police van hurtling down the interstate toward a line of vehicles stopped in traffic. The van was traveling at speeds variously estimated from 50 to 70 mph.
A witness said the van’s brake lights went on about two car lengths from the vehicles stopped ahead. Another witness said the van was 20 or 30 feet away when it “locked up the brakes.”
The van hit Rajanna’s car from behind, causing a chain reaction that also impacted two other vehicles.
“The primary contributing factor for the collision is that (the officer) was traveling at a speed higher than surrounding traffic, and was unable to stop, or avoid the vehicles in front of him, causing the collision,” according to the police report.
The impact slammed the family’s Mitsubishi Lancer into another vehicle and then into a guardrail. Chandan Rajanna suffered severe injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. In addition to his father’s injuries, his sister Lisa Allen suffered a severe brain injury.
Phone records obtained by detectives through a search warrant showed Watkins’ cellphone was actively being used moments before the crash was reported, according to court records.
Watkins resigned from the Kansas City Police Department on June 20, 2019, more than a month before prosecutors filed the charges.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 9:32 AM.
