Overland Park man suspected in crash that killed Eudora girl is arrested in Indiana
The suspected driver of a van that crashed into a motorcycle last month near Lawrence, killing a 10-year-old girl and injuring her grandfather, has been arrested in Indiana, authorities said.
On Saturday morning, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was told that Jose Alfredo Galiano Mesa was arrested in Martinsville, Indiana, by U.S. Marshals and Indiana State Troopers.
Mesa, a 28-year-old Overland Park man, is believed to be the driver in the May 14 hit-and-run crash that killed Brooklyn Brouhard, who attended Eudora Elementary School.
Authorities are now working to extradite him back to Kansas.
Police were initially called to the crash at about 5:15 p.m. May 14 near East 1900 Road and Kansas Highway 10. As the motorcycle was heading north on East 1900 Road, the driver of the van pulled from a stop sign at the top of the ramp from eastbound K-10 and collided with the motorcycle, the sheriff’s office said.
The motorcycle overturned, and witnesses said the driver of the van, a 2013 to 2019 white Ford Transit Connect XL Model, fled the scene, continuing onto eastbound K-10 and leaving a part of the van’s bumper and splash guard behind.
54-year-old Barry Larson, Brooklyn’s grandfather, was driving the motorcycle and was injured, but lived.
Brooklyn was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but died the next day, police said.
“Brooklyn loved life and saw the best in everyone she met,” according to her obituary. “She was truly a gift from God and an inspiration to everyone.”
Brooklyn liked playing cards with her great grandmother, swimming with her grandmother, baking with her mother and making videos with her sister, her family wrote.
“We are grateful for this arrest to begin the next chapter in the process in bringing answers to Brooklyn and her family,” Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister said in a statement Saturday.
He said the amount of information they could release on Mesa during the search was limited because of his immigration status.
“It was our fear that he would flee the country if we made him famous for all the wrong reasons, and we were poised to do so if it appeared he was moving south,” the sheriff said. “However, through tireless investigation, we knew he was still in the Midwest and could not risk pushing him out of the area, and due to those efforts, we were able to bring him safely into custody.”
Authorities said they identified Mesa as the van’s driver based in part on witness interviews. They learned Mesa had been in Lawrence earlier on the day of the crash for a painting job and was headed back to the Kansas City area at the time of the crash.
