Driver charged after chase in Independence tops 100 mph, injures 4 bystanders
A Kansas City man has been charged in a high-speed chase that ended in a crash and injured four innocent bystanders, two critically, according to a news release from prosecutors.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Aaron M. Ashley with one count of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention that resulted in injury, one count of causing damage to a jail or jail property and one count of leaving the scene of the crash.
The aggravated fleeing charge, known as Valentine’s Law, carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, while the two other charges each carry a penalty of up to 4 years in prison. All three charges are felonies.
So far this year, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has filed 111 Valentine’s Law cases. That compares to 65 for the same period last year.
“Fleeing from police is a decision that can destroy lives, including your own,” Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said.
“If you run from police and someone is killed or seriously hurt, you could face significant prison time,” Johnson said. “And those who flee hardly ever get away with it. It is not worth someone’s life, nor your own freedom. We will not stand for this reckless behavior in our community.”
The charges stem from a police chase that started after Independence police responded to a “suspicious activity call” about 4:35 p.m. Saturday at the Walmart Supercenter at 4000 S. Bolger Drive, which is near Interstates 70 and 470.
Before the officers contacted Ashley and the other person inside the store, they left and got into a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe.
According to court documents, a detective saw the Tahoe in the parking lot and ran a computer check of its Texas license plate. The detective learned the license plate was registered to a 2013 Hyundai.
Officers attempted to stop the Tahoe as it left the parking lot at East 39th Street and Bolger. Initially, the Tahoe slowed, but then sped away, reaching speeds of 80 mph in a 35 mph zone.
The driver of the Chevrolet cut in and out of traffic, causing other drivers to take evasive actions to avoid a collision, according to court documents. The pursuing officers terminated the chase and lost sight of the Tahoe as it went north on South Phelps Road.
Other officers then found the Tahoe heading north on South Lee’s Summit Road near East 23rd Street, allegedly swerving through traffic. The officers tried to pull over the Tahoe, but the driver didn’t stop, according to court documents.
The Tahoe exceeded 100 mph as it sped away and just before East Truman Road, the driver drove around a raised median and headed north in the southbound lanes. The Tahoe failed to stop at a red light as it entered the intersection and crashed into a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander that was headed east on Truman, causing it to overturn.
The driver, later identified as Ashley, ran from the crash, but was arrested nearby. While being held at the Independence Police Department’s detention unit, Ashley allegedly damaged the inside of a cell by smearing feces and blood on the walls and floor.
All four occupants of the Outlander were injured in the crash. Independence firefighters had to use the “jaws of life” to extricate three of them from the vehicle. The four people in the Outlander and a passenger in the Tahoe were taken to a hospital for treatment of their injuries.
The victims’ injuries included multiple broken bones, punctured lungs, lacerations, traumatic brain injury, and a partially separated aorta from the heart, requiring immediate lifesaving surgery, according to court documents.
Ashley’s bond was set at $200,000.
The crash comes at a time when Independence is overhauling its vehicle and foot pursuit policy after an audit found officers often launched high-speed chases in residential areas, sometimes for minor violations.
A 2024 Star investigation found Independence police led the metro with 330 chases in 2022. Of the more than 1,200 police chases across the Kansas City metro that year, 150 ended in crashes and 51 injuries. Independence accounted for 33% of those injuries.
