Motorcyclist dies after Westport crash Sunday. Kansas City police have man in custody
A motorcyclist is dead and another driver is in custody following a crash Sunday evening in Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood.
Police were called to the scene of a crash around 6:24 p.m. Sunday near Broadway Boulevard and Lawrence Street, Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email.
The crash happened after the male driver of a white Nissan Maxima parked on Broadway’s east curb pulled out and began making a U-turn in front of northbound traffic, police said. At the same time, the driver of a Piaggio Aprilia motorcycle was headed north on Broadway, toward 42nd Street.
As the car’s driver made the U-turn, the motorcyclist hit the back left corner of the car, police said. The impact threw the driver from the motorcycle.
The motorcycle driver was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said. The victim has not yet been publicly identified.
Immediately after the crash, the Nissan’s driver veered off the road and into grass on the west side of the street, then kept driving on grass and sidewalk until he was able to drive around parked cars and back onto the road, police said.
After getting back on the road, the Nissan’s driver continued on a few blocks before parking, police said. Then he got out of the car and returned to the scene on foot.
Witnesses at the scene identified him as the driver of the Nissan, and he was taken into custody. Police said he is under investigation for possible impairment.
This is the 42nd fatality from a crash this year in Kansas City, according to the police department.
