Gunbattle that ended in fatal wreck disturbs Northeast area residents too used to violence

A woman’s sudden death during a rolling gunbattle Tuesday night saddened but didn’t surprise Northeast area residents who live near the scene.

Violence routinely visits their neighborhood, they said.

Still, what happened Tuesday night to 35-year-old Mariana Hernandez-Gonzales shocked them.

“It is so sad but it is not the first time, to be honest with you,” said Hashim Almayali, a 10-year area resident who can see the Ninth Street and Hardesty Avenue intersection from his backyard.

Hernandez-Gonzales was riding in an SUV when a Chrysler involved in a rolling gunbattle ran a red light at the intersection and smashed into her vehicle, rolling it on its side and ejecting her.

Six children and the driver in the SUV suffered injuries, though police expected all to recover.

A person who jumped out of the Chrysler got into another vehicle and fled the scene.

Police chased that car to the area of 16th Street and Jackson Avenue, where officers took one person into custody.

Wednesday, work crews installed a new traffic light at the intersection, which is near a railroad overpass and some businesses.

The recent violence worries Almayali, who has three kids.

“Sometimes it’s hard to allow them to even go outside,” he said.

Shawn Thomas, who lives in his childhood home a block north of the intersection, said a recent spike in shootings has not deterred him from his regular walks around the neighborhood.

Dorothy Sanders, who has lived in her East Eighth Street home for 40 years, still feels comfortable enough to walk to stores several blocks north on Independence Avenue — but only during the day.

“My kids live in the suburbs and want me to move out there, but I feel safe here and walk to the Walgreens,” she said.

The gunbattle occurred near the eastern boundary of the Lykins neighborhood, where many residents have noticed a recent increase in a variety of problems, said David Shuck, Lykins Neighborhood Association president.

“It’s kind of shocking,” Shuck said.

Conditions seemed to have been improving in recent years, Shuck said. “We’ve heard much less gunfire at night than when we first moved here so it’s startling, all of a sudden, to get this big spike in the last few weeks.”

Not all of the incidents have involved gunfire, he said.

“There’s been more motorcycle racing in the neighborhood, which wakes people up at night,” he said.

“I have a very strong hope that this is just some aberration, just some people who have decided to bring their trouble to our neighborhood.”

Sgt. Kari Thompson, a Kansas City police spokeswoman, asked for residents with any information about the rolling gunbattle to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

“Whether you live in the urban core, north or south of the river, this is still your city and we all have to take accountability to do what we can to stop the violence in our city,” she said.

“There are people who know what happened last night, and a simple phone call would mean so much to that family.”

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Gunbattle that ended in fatal wreck disturbs Northeast area residents too used to violence."